DCAU: Justice League Continues: Part 2
by Jupitus Garth
Summary: Changes are afoot. For the Justice League, they are expanding, not only in numbers but also in global influence. Unfortunately, it comes at the cost of more oversight. For Galatea, life is starting to feel somewhat normal, but something is on the horizon that will not only affect her but others as well.
1. Chapter 1

****Here is the next story in my Justice League continuation from the DCAU/Timmverse that started with Batman the Animated Series in 1992 and ran through to Justice League unlimited that ended in 2006.****

 ** **This continues on from part 1 and 1.5. If you haven't read either, then you're going to be lost.****

 ** **As for OC's. They exist because I either couldn't find a character that fit my need or because I wanted to inject something new into the mix. They are few and far between and are by no means the focus of the story.****

 ** **Nobody commented on it in the first story apart from asking who she was, so I figure no one picked up on it. In Part 1, Emil has a friend called Delina Gibson an OC. She has a teen son called Maxwell Gibson. Well in my headcanon he's the future father of Maxine Gibson from Batman Beyond. I know, small universe syndrome, but when I first conceived of the character I thought it was cool.****

 **Anyway, the first sixteen chapters are already written to some degree. Have been working on it on-and-off since February last year.**

 **I was planning on having the whole thing done before I started posting chapters, but this chapter is fully locked and done and I felt like sharing it.**

 **Just a note, this is sort of like a taste, the next chapter might not be "locked" for a little while. I plan on releasing the chapters hopefully in frequent succession so that people don't forget things.**

 **And to add. I don't own anything in the DCU, DCAU or what is known as the Timmverse. That belongs to DC and WB.**

 **With that, enjoy this first chapter of part 2.**

* * *

 ** **Chapter One****

 **Redwood Forest**

 **Outside San Francisco**

 **The United States**

 **16:58 – PDT**

 ** **August 14, 2007****

The carpet of trees was a blur as she soared over at great speed, skimming the upper branches of some of the taller ones. This often caused the birds to scatter out into the sky startled, which only added to the joy she felt. She had never felt as free as she did right now. To be able to soar above the world without being on a mission, to be able to explore the wilderness and discover things without having the ball and chain of Cadmus pulling at her feet.

Galatea flew over one of the many watchtowers that were dotted around the forest and waved to the warden, a woman named Clara who sat inside. The warden waved back as the clone flew overhead without a care in the world.

Not long after, she descended down into the trees and walk the rest of the way to the house where she was staying with Emil Hamilton and Pauline Lester, the former being the man she saw as her father and the latter his old friend who Galatea still wasn't sure she could completely trust.

The house was a holiday home owned by one of Emil Hamilton's former colleagues at Cadmus, a Delina Gibson and had been purchased with the generous monetary package she had received after leaving the now supposedly defunct secret organisation.

Galatea pushed the front door open and stepped inside. "I'm back," she called out.

Emil came out of the living room with a frown on his face. "Where have you been all day?" he demanded predictably.

She knew where this conversation was going. "Out," she said obtusely, wishing that he would drop it.

"You weren't spotted were you?" he questioned expectedly.

"No," she said defensively. He didn't know that she had made friends with some of the people out here and he definitely didn't know she was flying. He thought she was simply going out for a long walk and even then he was freaking out about it.

"I know you like your hikes," he began, "but it's dangerous out there. If someone saw you, then it could put us all in danger."

"Calm down," Galatea said bored of his constant bemoaning. "You worry way too much."

"I worry for good reason."

"I'm not spending my days cooped up in here, dad." She shrugged, deciding to turn the focus of the conversation away from herself. "You should go for a walk yourself y'know. I think the fresh air would do you some good. Being stuck in here all day can't be good for your health."

Emil sighed. "Maybe," he reluctantly agreed. "I know you don't like being here, but it's necessary for the time being."

"Stuck here in this house, that's true. But I like going out into the forest. I find it relaxing. I'm gonna keep going out, so don't even think of talking me out of it."

Emil relented. "I suppose you can keep going on your hikes if you enjoy them that much. Just keep away from those towers and wardens, okay?"

"Don't worry dad, I'll keep well away from everything. I can hear and see people way before they can hear and see me, calm down, nothing will happen."

"I just worry about you."

"I know and it's annoying."

Emil chuckled at that. "I don't mean to be annoying."

"I'm one of the most powerful people on the planet, dad. You don't have to worry about me."

"I worry because I care."

She sighed with frustration. "I get that, but you have to relax. You're getting all worked up over me going for a walk and for no reason."

"I know, you're right. If you find it enjoyable, then I won't stop you."

She rolled her eyes at the ridiculousness of what he had just said. "As if you'd be able to stop me from going out."

He slowly shook his head in response.

"Why are you shaking your head?" she asked. "You couldn't stop me and that's a fact."

"No, I couldn't stop you, you're right about that. I just wish you were more respectful. I've given up everything for you Tea."

"I never asked you to." She stopped herself and bit her bottom lip. She felt a little guilty about what she had just said. "Thanks anyway," she offered. "And yeah, I'll be careful and I'll try not to draw attention. We don't want anyone knowing we're here and all that. Especially not the government or the Justice League."

"Speaking of which, how is your mental connection with Kara? You said it had gone again?"

She nodded with relief. "Yeah, since moving away from Metropolis it's fizzled out. Could be a proximity thing, maybe?"

"Hmmm," Emil said thinking for a moment. "Perhaps. I don't know. Truth is I'm not sure what caused it in the first place."

"Well, whatever causes it I'm glad it's gone again."

"As am I," Emil agreed. "The last thing we need is her being able to see where we are through your eyes."

Galatea held in a shudder. It was always something that had unnerved her since the first time she had become aware of it. At first, she had assumed it was one way, but then when she found out it went both ways, that's when she had really become freaked out and even angry. She didn't like the idea of someone being able to see through her eyes. It was deeply unnerving.

Emil turned and headed for the kitchen. "I'm going to make a coffee."

Galatea turned up her nose. She hated the stuff. "I'll be in the living room," she told him. "Away from that stink."

* * *

 **Kent Farm**

 **Smallville**

 **The United States**

 **15:04 CDT**

 **August 14, 2007**

"Good to see ya back in town little lady," the ageing clerk said as Kara put the groceries on the counter.

"It's good to be back," she said. "The folks needed some help with the farm, so here I am."

"Must seem a little backward bein' back 'ere in Smallville," he commented as he scanned the items.

"A little bit," she said, his comment taking on a double meaning for her considering she had been living nine-hundred years in the future up until a few months ago. "But I've missed the simplicity, y'know?"

He shrugged. "Never been to the big city," he said. "That'll be forty-four dollars ninety-five."

She handed him the cash before heading out with the groceries to the truck. She opened the passenger door and put them down in the foot-well with the other shopping before moving around and climbing in behind the wheel.

Catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror caused a small smile to tug at the corner of her mouth. She looked so plain and ordinary in her jeans and blouse. There was nothing about her that even remotely said "Superhero." She twisted the ignition and the ancient vehicle and the engine started with a throaty grumble. She put it in drive and set off back to the farm.

It took twenty minutes to get back, a journey that would have taken less than twenty seconds if she had gone by air. After parking the truck, she hopped out and took everything inside, placing it all in the kitchen. Martha stepped into the room and helped her put everything away.

"Where's Jonathan?" Kara asked as she put the last thing away in the cupboard.

"He's asleep in his chair," Martha answered.

"Afternoon nap?"

Martha chuckled. "Yeah."

"When he wakes up I want to run some ideas past you two."

"Ideas?"

"About the farm," Kara clarified.

"I can go wake him now," Martha said moving off towards the living room.

"I don't want to put him in a bad mood. I'll wait." Kara paused as her ears twitched. "Actually, I think he's already awake."

"Who's awake?" Jonathan asked as he stepped into the kitchen. "You talking about me?"

"About the farm," Kara said. "I've been thinking and going over your taxes. You're paying for land that's not being used."

Jonathan nodded, knowing where she was going with her train of thought. "I know. We have grazing land but no more cattle."

"Yeah exactly," Kara said. She opened her mouth to talk, but held off for a moment. She knew that what she was about to say might not be received well. "I know you might not want to hear this," she began, feeling awkward, "but you're gonna have to sell off some land and downsize the farm or risk losing it."

Martha nodded solemnly. "We know, dear."

"Both me and Martha have been talking about it already," Jonathan said. "And we came to the same conclusion."

Kara felt relieved. She was half expecting resistance to the notion of them having to sell off some of the land.

Jonathan continued, "We've thought about selling some of our land to that Dirk feller."

"Dirk Phillips," Martha clarified.

Kara had heard him mentioned once or twice since returning but wasn't exactly familiar with him.

Noting her confusion, Martha filled her in. "The Phillip's bought the old Jameson farm not long after you left for the future."

"Right," Kara said. "And he needs more land for his cattle?"

"Yeah, that's right," Jonathan confirmed. "He's new to this whole farming thing. I don't think he understood the benefits of pasture rotation and filled most of his land with cattle for continuous grazing."

Martha sighed. "We used to do cattle rotation back in the day. Dealing with it too much hard work for us these days."

Kara nodded in understanding. They had sold the cattle while she had been in the future. The two of them couldn't keep it up, not by themselves. "Good job the chickens don't require as much work."

"The corn does, though," Jonathan said. "What used to take a day now takes me a week.

"I could help you with that," Kara offered. "If you show me how the combine works, I could do that for you."

"I appreciate the offer," Jonathan said, "But it's still something I can do. At least for now."

"We can't sit around in here all day doing nothing," Martha said. "We might be past it, but we still like to keep ourselves busy."

"That we do," Jonathan agreed.

Kara understood. "Well if you ever need any help, don't hesitate to ask."

"Don't worry, we will," Martha assured her.

"And we appreciate it," Jonathan added. "We were thinking of selling the farm before you came back, but thanks to the help you've given us we've changed our minds."

"Thanks for that," Martha said gratefully.

"And I'll be here to help when I can," Kara assured them. "For as long as you need me." Kara checked the time. "And I should really be going. I'm taking over Clark's late afternoon patrol of Metropolis."

"Any reason why?" Jonathan asked.

"He's busy with the Daily Planet and the League. Things are a little hectic as of late."

"We won't keep you," Martha said.

"I'll see you tonight," Kara said with a wave as she left the house.

* * *

 **Watchtower II**

 **Earth Orbit**

 **15:15 – Station Time (EST)**

 **August 14, 2007**

The view of the planet down below was something she didn't think she would ever get used to. Neither was being trapped up here on this orbital space station.

For Catwoman, or rather Selina Kyle as she was in plain T-shirt and slacks, this place felt somewhat like a prison.

While she could attempt an escape, there were two main problems. First was the teleporter. She didn't know how it worked and even though she wouldn't admit it to anyone else, she was a little more than afraid of it. The second issue was that she didn't know how to fly a Javelin and didn't fancy burning up in the atmosphere or crashing into the ocean or anything else equally unpleasant.

Still, despite being held here against her will, she did enjoy the view.

It was then that she felt a set of eyes on her back. Looking at the glass, she could see the reflection of Wonder Woman stood behind her, her eyes buried into the back of her head as though the Amazon was attempting to kill her with willpower alone.

Without turning around, Selina addressed her unwanted visitor. "So, the princess is spying on the thief."

When there was no answer, Selina turned around to see Wonder Woman stood there with her arms folded, a deep glare on her face.

"You'll give yourself wrinkles if you're not careful," Selina said, turning back around to look at the much more pleasant appearance of the Earth.

"I'm an Amazon, we don't get wrinkles," came her response.

"Lucky you," Selina said, feeling more than a little jealous. Not only did this Amazon have flawless features and didn't age, she also had Batman's heart.

It was the last one that really got to her. She felt that after all the years she and Batman had been flirting with one another, after everything they had been through, in the end, it didn't matter. He loved this stuck up Greek woman who from Selina's point of view, had the personality of a dried up prune.

Selina looked at the reflection of Wonder Woman in the glass. "Any reason you're here?"

"I could ask you the same," Diana said.

"I was brought up here after Circe injured me at the museum remember?"

"I remember that you were with them."

"Yes and no," Selina said with a shrug.

"I'm guessing that means that you were with them until you saw you were up against the League, then decided to run like a scared little kitty."

"I would have gotten away too if I hadn't decided to help Nightwing who had been injured," Selina said. "I know when I'm outmatched."

"That's good to know because, with me, you are definitely outmatched."

Selina frowned. "Well, you're certainly sure of yourself aren't you," she commented.

"Because it's true."

"I'm sure that's what you believe."

"We could have a match, one on one. But I'm afraid you wouldn't make it even one round with me."

Selina smirked. "You talk the talk, but you're intimidated by me, I can tell."

"I can lift tons, what can you lift? Other than some diamond you're stealing I mean?"

Selina's smirk turned into a grin. "It's not all about raw strength."

"You can't seduce me, Selina," Diana said. "That is your other trick, right? To seduce men?"

"If you have a skill, then why not flaunt it?" Selina questioned. "Perhaps you should give it a shot," she said, looking the Amazon up and down. "You definitely have what it takes."

Wonder Woman visibly gritted her teeth. "You are disgusting."

"No, I'm practical. You're a stuck-up prude."

The Amazon clenched her fists and took a threatening step forward. For a moment, Selina thought that she might actually attack when she was saved by the Bat.

"Diana!" came the voice of Batman, who neither had realised was there. "I need to speak to you for a minute."

Selina looked seductively at him, pushing her luck further. "Hello there, handsome."

He ignored her, while Wonder Woman shot her a fierce glare. Selina shrugged and moved off, catching the briefest comment about Flash and Giganta from Batman as he spoke quietly to the Amazon.

Selina smiled to herself as she knew what it was probably about. She wouldn't be surprised if Batman went to spy on the couple. He was like that. Always suspicious. Nobody had privacy with the Dark Knight around.

* * *

 **Central City**

 **The United States**

 **18:24 CDT**

 **August 14, 2007**

Fine dining wasn't something Wally West was really used to. Neither were dinner dates and wearing suits. But with Giganta; who now went by the name of Gina when out and about, it was definitely worth it.

She looked stunning in a low cut red dress, her red hair was loose and draped across her shoulders and she had a smile that lit up her whole face.

Wally himself had a wide smile on his face and he knew that he probably looked like a goofy idiot, but he didn't care. Right now he felt like the luckiest man on Earth. Sure, he had technically been with Giganta for the past few months, but he had actually convinced the others to let her off the Watchtower for one evening and he was going to make sure it was a good one.

They both said a courteous thank you to the waiter as he brought them their starter, which was two bowls of soup. They were going for a full three-course meal, though for Wally it was actually more of a snack.

Their gaze kept falling into the other's eyes while they ate. Strangely enough, Giganta finished her soup first, mainly because Wally couldn't keep his eyes off of her.

He quickly finished his soup while she took a sip of her wine.

"You know," she began after a moment, "When you said you were taking me out on a date, I was worried it would be another fast food place."

"Only the best for you," Wally said to her with a smile. "And also I don't think we're gonna get the chance to do this a lot, so I thought I'd make it special."

"It is, thank you."

"Sorry about how things have been over the past few months," Wally said apologetically.

"It's fine, Wally. I know your-" She paused for a moment as she thought for the right word that wouldn't give anything away to anyone that happened to be listening in. "I know your friends don't like me very much."

"Shay seems to have warmed to you."

"Maybe," Giganta said with a slight shrug. "She still doesn't trust me."

"Give her some time, give all of them some time. They'll come around," Wally assured her. "And I'm sure Shay likes you. She's talked to you a few times, hasn't she?"

"Yeah, she has. I guess she might like me. It's hard to tell."

Wally shifted nervously in his seat. He knew of one thing that was hampering the others excepting her, but he was apprehensive about bringing it up. He decided to go for it, regardless. "Don't take this the wrong way but you'd earn the other's trust faster if you didn't spend so much time with Selina."

"She's the only one that seems to want to talk to me."

The two of them fell silent as the waiter came and took away their empty soup bowls. Not long later, their main course arrived. Wally was having steak while Giganta ordered chicken. He went straight in, jabbing his knife and fork into the meat and cutting off a large chunk and shoving it greedily into his mouth.

Giganta noticed a few people looking at them. "Umm, Wally," she said, leaning forward.

He looked up at her. "What?"

"Slow down, you're making a scene."

He looked around sheepishly at the shocked and disgusted faces staring at him. "Right, sorry. Forgot where we were for a second."

Giganta rolled her eyes before turning her attention to her own meal. Now being a little self-conscious, Wally cut his steak into small chunks and tried to measure out his eating, which for him was quite a challenge.

Unlike the soup, Wally finished the main course well before Giganta. Putting his fork down, he leant his arms on the table as he watched his date eat.

"You enjoying yourself?" he asked her.

She looked at him and smiled. "Yes, I am," she said to his relief. "I'm glad we were able to do this."

"Don't worry, we'll be doing this again," Wally promised.

"I hope so."

"You don't have to hope, Gina," he said.

Her smile grew wider at the given name. It had definitely grown on her. "Then I look forward to the next time. But let's finish this time first."

He grinned. They fell silent while Giganta finished her main meal. After that, it wasn't long until they were brought dessert which didn't take either of them long to eat.

With that out of the way, Wally paid the tab with a nice tip and the two of them stepped outside arm in arm.

"Where are we going now?" Giganta asked him.

"For a walk," he replied.

"To anywhere in particular?"

"No. Just thought we'd go for a walk. We still have about an hour left before we have to get back."

"Not long," Giganta mused. "But I suppose I'm grateful that they let us out at all."

"I talked them into it," Wally said. "I can be pretty persuasive."

"Thanks, this really means a lot to me. Dating isn't really something that I really did a lot back when I was-" She paused for a few moments. "Well, y'know."

"That's behind you now," Wally assured her. "You have a future to look forward to."

"Thanks, Wally. I'm having a really good time."

Wally was pleased. He just didn't want to have to return to the Watchtower in less than an hour. He too was having a good time and didn't want it to end, even though he knew it would.

* * *

 **Somewhere in Ontario**

 **Canada**

 **19:02 – EDT**

 **August 14, 2007**

She was not having a good time. Five minutes ago, things seemed to be going well, but not now.

Zari Tarin, a Thanagarian, lay there staring at the dirt that was mere inches from her face. She could hear footsteps moving to surround her, shouts for her to raise her hands.

She didn't bother. She half hoped they would just shoot her and get it over with. She no longer wanted to be cooped up in whatever facility they were holding her in. She no longer wanted the tests or to be held in that tiny room. Sure, they gave her access to a television, but it was of little comfort when she was still a prisoner.

Two feet entered her peripheral vision. "I'm disappointed," came the deep voice of Addison Payne, the man who was in charge of the facility. "I thought we were making a lot of progress."

"I'll escape eventually," she promised.

He sighed a disappointed sigh. "We're only trying to help you, Zari. We have given you a lot of privileges, don't make us take them away."

Zari felt her consciousness begin to slip. The effect of the tranquilliser that had knocked her out of the sky only moments earlier.

"You were doing so well," he said disapprovingly. "We thought we were making progress," he said, starting to repeat himself. "Put her on the stretcher and get her in the van. Let's get her back to the facility."

She felt hands grab her and haul her up. The next thing she knew she was strapped down on the stretcher in the back of the van. She continued to fall in and out of consciousness until the tranquilliser took full effect and the world finally went dark.


	2. Chapter 2

****Chapter Two****

 ** **Watchtower II****

 ** **Earth Orbit****

 ** **18:48 – Station Time****

 ** **August 15, 2007****

John Stewart sat in the Founder's conference room with Superman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Batman and Flash. All of them were here except Shayera who was supposedly coming up from Earth where she had been spending a lot of time her with John Henry Irons, or Steel as he was also known.

Jealousy was what Earth's resident Green Lantern felt and he wasn't ashamed to admit it. His relationship with Mari; aka Vixen, had failed and now Shayera was with another man, another John. It tore him up inside to know they weren't together and what made it worse was that she kept denying that there was anything between her and Irons.

If that was the case, then why was she always with him? Something just didn't add up.

The main reason they were having a meeting was that tomorrow, they would be heading down to their respective towers to take command.

A few months ago they had had a meeting with the United Nations and not just with the security council but others as well. It had been decided that the Justice League had to answer not only to them but the nations they operated in

They were in no real position to argue, at least not without risking everything they had tried so hard to build up. The trust of the people was important to them and over the years it had taken more than a few knocks.

It had been argued that they focused too much on the North American continent, alienating them from the people elsewhere on Earth. It was true. The Justice League had the Metro Tower in the US, but no embassy anywhere else.

Tomorrow that officially changed.

Each tower was named after the city it was in. For instance, the already standing Metro Tower was in Metropolis, North America, which was the tower Superman was in command of.

John himself was in command of the South American tower in the Brazil City of Rio. He had to admit, he got a pretty good assignment. Beaches and sunny skies. Not typically his scene, but he knew he would like the change of environment.

Flash had been given Oceania and was in command of the Melbourne Tower. There was the question whether Flash was ready to take on a leadership role and it was decided that they would give him a chance. He deserved it and they were all hopefully optimistic, including Batman, much to everyone's surprise.

Wonder Woman had been given the European tower, which was located in Paris. It was the perfect fit for her, at least in his own opinion.

J'onn was given Asia, which had its tower located in Seoul, South Korea. It was another perfect fit, since he lived in that region, in China with his wife.

Then there was Shayera. She had been put in the country of Nigeria in the Lagos Tower in Africa.

He was brought out of his thoughts as the door slid open to see a sight he had never expected.

Shayera was dressed in gold and red armour with a dark green hawk on the front. While her coming in dressed in full armour was strange in itself, what really shocked him was how much it looked like the armour their son in the future; or rather a possible future had worn. Except Warhawk had been all steel grey, whereas hers echoed her old colours from when she had been Hawkgirl.

The main difference was that this one was designed for a woman. The other difference was the helmet. It had the flairs or wings on it like her old helmet. It also left her wings exposed, though Warhawk hadn't been born with wings as far as he knew, so his wings had been part of the armour.

"Very Nice," Wonder Woman said with a warm smile. "You look like a warrior queen."

Shayera smiled back. "Thanks. Not quite the look I was going for, but I'll take it."

Flash then jumped in surprise as armour folded over her wings and her eyes turned red. "That's pretty neat," he said.

"The eyes are a scanner," she said as the eyepieces turned back to the normal colour of her eyes.

Superman didn't seem convinced with this change. "Who're we at war with?" he questioned with a frown. "Because to me, it looks like you're ready for war."

She half-shrugged. "Well after being blown out of the sky and not being able to fly for nearly two months, I decided I needed a little more protection." She then looked at John. "And this is why I've been spending time with Steel. It's not because we're having some secret affair, it's because he was helping me with this."

He looked away knowing that he must have seemed overprotective and controlling. Maybe he had been. Still, he wasn't entirely sure whether he believed her when she said that she was going to see Steel purely for his help. They had been spending a lot of time together, more than one would think if they were simply making some armour.

Shayera took her helmet off and sat in her usual seat. "Tomorrow's the big day," she said, placing it down on the table in front of her. "The opening of towers around the world."

Diana nodded. "It certainly is a better outcome than we were expecting."

Superman grimaced. "It's alright for some. I have Amanda Waller waiting for me down at the Metro Tower in Metropolis. She'll be breathing down my neck for the foreseeable future."

"Suck it up," Diana said much to everyone's surprise. It wasn't the type of phrase she usually used. "What?" the Amazon questioned at their response.

"She's right," Batman said, agreeing with her. "It is the terms of the agreement. We all have representatives from several nations in the respective continents and to the UN. you'll just have to make do."

"Pfft," Wally sounded. "Easy for you to say Mister Part-Time. You don't even have to deal with it."

A small smile crossed Batman's lips. "Which suits me fine. I have no urge to lead a tower. I'm too busy."

Over the last few months, Batman had eased up a bit, emphasis on 'a bit'. He was more or less where he had been before the incident that had led to the demise of the Joker and the Bat-clan falling apart. He had told them everything and their support while not outwardly appreciated, they could tell that it meant a lot to him, even if he wouldn't admit it.

"Well anyway, who else is looking forward to tomorrow?" Flash asked the others.

"I think we're all looking forward to it," Shayera said. "Except for Superman. His tower's already open."

The opening time in each timezone was ten in the morning. This meant that in a mere few hours J'onn and Flash would be heading down to their respective towers in order to make sure everything was ready.

The last one to open would have been the Metro Tower, due to the rotation of the Earth. However, as it was already open it meant the South American tower in Rio would be the last to open its doors.

Flash leant back in his chair, a sly smile on his face, which usually meant he had thought of something funny. Or rather funny to him and no one else. "So, if we ordered some pizza, do you think they'd be able to find their way up here to deliver it?" The speedster asked, looking amused.

"I'd like to see the face of whoever took that order," Shayera replied, also amused by the thought.

"Perhaps we should go out for a meal?" Wonder Woman suggested. "I don't think we've ever done that before, not as a group."

"Too late in the evening for that," Lantern pointed out. "But us seven walking into some fast food place or restaurant would definitely turn some heads."

Superman smiled. "It would certainly make whatever place we walked into famous."

"Unfortunately," J'onn said interrupting the banter, "we do not have time tonight. Both I and the Flash are scheduled to be down at our respective towers within the next few hours and Batman wants me to help him with something before I head down there."

Batman clarified. "Commissioner Gordon is retiring and both Bruce Wayne and Batman is expected to be there."

"Good luck with being both at the same time," Flash said.

"That is what I'm helping him with," J'onn said.

"You gonna play Bats?" Flash asked.

Batman interjected. "We should probably start the meeting. It is why we're all here after all."

"Agreed," John said.

Shayera was the first to get to the task at hand. "I believe our first order of business should be the hero waiting outside," she said, looking at Superman. Everyone agreed verbally, except one.

Superman looked away with a pained expression. He hadn't been looking forward to this and had hoped to delay it a little longer. It appeared that time had run out and he would have to face him. It wasn't something the Man of Steel had wanted to do but knew he had to.

Batman stood up. "I'll show him in."

"No," Superman said quickly, also standing up. "It should be me. I'm the reason he left in the first place."

Batman sat back down as Superman swiftly, yet reluctantly made his way over to the sliding door. They opened with a light 'swoosh' and he stepped out into the corridor outside where he found Captain Marvel sat drumming his hands on his knees.

"Thank you for waiting," Superman said. "Would you like to come in?"

"Yeah, okay," Captain Marvel said standing up, following the Man of Steel back into the room.

Superman sat back down at his seat while Captain Marvel stood at the end of the circular-shaped table looking rather nervous.

The last time Captain Marvel had been in that room it had been to throw in his resignation to the Justice League. Not only that, but it had been all Superman's fault. Well, mostly.

Luthor had tricked him into believing a bomb was underneath Lexor City; a new borough he had built under false had all been a farce, but no one had known that at the time. Superman had suspected, but there had not been any proof.

Superman and Captain Marvel had ended up fighting, destroying half of the newly constructed, but thankfully still empty suburb. As it turned out the device wasn't a bomb at all and once again Superman had found accusing eyes on him.

It wasn't as bad as when Darkseid had twisted his mind and he had attacked Earth, but it was still a hefty blow to his reputation and Captain Marvel had resigned because of it. He saw the Justice League as this negative force. In the end, Luthor had shown his true colours. It had all been a trick to turn everyone against the league and he had almost ensured that it had worked.

Captain Marvel cleared his throat and began. "I've been thinking since I quit and I know that Luthor was a bad guy and stuff and that he tricked you Superman."

"I was still in the wrong," Superman said, acknowledging his error. It was still a huge sore spot for him and one of his regrets in life. "I should have gone about it differently."

"Yeah, you were acting pretty crazy down there. Luthor must have really made you mad, huh?"

"Yes," Superman said quietly.

"Well, I wanna kinda give this another shot, y'know? If you'll take me, because that would be pretty cool."

Flash nodded. "Yeah we know what ya mean, buddy. If you wanna re-join the league then I don't see why not."

Batman spoke next. "There is of course the rule about minors."

Diana interjected. "They don't know he's a kid."

"But we do," John said. "We're supposed to be open and honest with the United Nations and governments we're dealing with. Keeping secrets goes against that."

"Apart from our secret identities," Superman pointed out. "Or at least those of us that have them. Captain Marvel proved himself before that he was a capable and willing member of the team."

J'onn looked around the table at the faces of his comrades. "I assume there are no real objections to letting Captain Marvel rejoin the Justice League?"

No one said anything, which Superman took as an affirmative. "Welcome back to the Justice League Captain Marvel. Hopefully this time we won't let you down."

Marvel grinned. "I'm back in? Really? That's awesome."

"Congratulations," Wonder Woman said.

"Thanks," he said back. "So, you want me to do anything now?"

"Just go and mingle with the others for the time being," Superman told him. "And sorry again for what happened before."

"It's cool. I'll catch you later," Marvel said as he left the room. "This is so awesome," they heard him say as the doors slid shut behind him.

Superman took in a deep calming breath. "That went a lot better than I was expecting."

"Quite," J'onn agreed.

John interjected. "He's still a kid and I think that even if the rest of you don't, Batman will agree with me at least when I say he shouldn't be put in any leadership roles until he's older."

"We all agree with that," Wonder Woman said.

Superman shook his head. "We can talk about the specifics later. I think we have a lot to get through in this meeting already."

J'onn looked at his list. "Should we get onto our next topic?" he asked.

"Yes," Superman said.

J'onn glanced back down at the next item on their agenda. "There is the question, on well, the Question."

Flash leant back, resting his right arm over the back of his chair. "What about him?"

John answered. "He's been missing for the last few months."

"Probably with Huntress," Shayera guessed.

"He is," Batman confirmed. "I know exactly where he is. He's currently in California on Dr. Hamilton's trail."

Superman looked uncomfortable again. "Is it safe sending him? Neither of them will stand a chance against Galatea if she decided to attack."

Wonder Woman added. "Let's also not forget that Huntress was dismissed from the league. She shouldn't be working on any missions."

"This isn't an official mission," Batman told them. "He took it on himself, as did Huntress. They are both perfectly capable of finding her without being discovered."

Flash shrugged before asking, "Why are we after her again?"

Superman looked at him in disbelief. "You remember who she is right? The murdering clone of Kara?"

Flash leant forward in his chair. "Galatea helped us, remember? When the Gordanians showed up? I think we owe her one."

John disagreed. "She only helped us because it was in her own interest to help."

"I agree with Lantern," Superman said. "She's not a good guy and she's definitely not a good person."

Batman said, "When he reports that he's found her, we will be able to deal with her."

J'onn looked to the others. Unlike them he had seen a glimpse of her mind and what lay beneath. It was more troubled than anything evil and while she shared similarities with Kara, she was also very much her own person with her own mental signature.

He addressed Superman directly. "I know that you think she is evil, but I do not believe that is the case. I admit that my time with her has been brief and was during an emergency, however, she was confused, lost. I do not believe she is inherently evil as you seem to believe."

"I still don't trust her," Superman said.

"And she doesn't trust us," Shayera pointed out. "We've talked about her before and as I recall we all agreed that we shouldn't force her into being our enemy." She gestured towards Flash. "Just look at Giganta, she's turned out not to be such a bad person."

Diana disagreed. "That is still unproven. Giganta hasn't been given the chance to break the law or double cross us. She's been spending her time up here and might I add that too much of that time has been with a certain Selina Kyle. I don't have to tell you how untrustworthy _she_ is."

Shayera shook her head. "She and Flash went out on a date last night and she didn't do anything."

"Doesn't prove she isn't still a villain," Diana said defiantly.

"I agree," Batman said. "Until we put Giganta into a position where she can prove herself, we should regard her with caution."

Flash took exception to that. "Gina's not a villain anymore, guys. Tell 'em, Shayera."

The former Hawkgirl sided with him. "I've spent some time with her. She's a bit too much of a girly-girl for my tastes, but I don't feel she's being deceptive or anything."

J'onn looked back at their next topic of discussion. "Perhaps we could come back to that. There are a lot of things we still need to discuss and we are running out of time."

"Right," Superman agreed. "What's next?"

"Aquaman," J'onn said. "He wants to be more active within the Justice League and he also wants to bring another one of his own into the fold."

"Tuna, right?" Flash asked.

"Tula," Diana corrected.

"We do need more aqua people," Shayera pointed out. "We have everything above the sea covered, but beneath the waves is still our weakest spot and there's a lot of ocean on this planet."

"Agreed," Batman said.

"So, with Aquaboy and Aquaman, we'll also have Aquagirl," Flash commented.

"I believe that their designated names are Aqualad and Aqualass," Diana said.

"Why not just call them Garth and Tula?" Shayera questioned. "They don't have day jobs or civilian identities, so why have codenames?"

"They might also want to be able to interact with the population as civilians not as heroes," Batman pointed out. "Besides these are their given codenames. All heroes have them."

Superman agreed. "We will be giving them the designation of Aqualad and Aqualass while in the league and I think we're all in agreement that she should be able to join."

Diana wasn't so sure they should except her so easily. "But what about the trial?" she asked. "One week with a founder so we can assess if they are ready."

"I think we can skip it," Batman said.

"We can't skip some and not others," the Amazon pointed out. "It sets a bad precedent and makes it appear that we are playing favourites.

"It's a waste of time," Batman said. The Dark Knight had always been somewhat against the assessment since it had been introduced just a little under a year ago. Mainly because he knew at some point he would be put with someone and Batman was a more solitary hero, now more than ever.

J'onn decided to interject before the conversation was derailed any more. "We can assess whether it is still needed in a future meeting. I believe that we should place both Tula and Garth on a probationary period and allow them to prove themselves."

"I agree," John said with a nod. "I don't know if any of you have noticed, but since the incident with Killer Croc in Gotham where he was nearly crushed, we've barely sent Garth out on any missions."

"We haven't sent him on any," J'onn corrected.

"My point is proven," John said. "I'll be honest, I don't like Aquaman or the Atlanteans, but we need them if we want to strengthen the league."

Batman pointed out. "Some would say the league is far too strong already."

"And they might be right," Superman agreed. "But we can only do our best."

J'onn looked down at their agenda. "Perhaps we should get on to the next topic?"

Superman nodded. "Agreed."

"Catwoman," J'onn said. "She is a wanted felon and we are holding her here without trial."

Diana spoke up, "We hand her over to the authorities. Simple. I don't even know why she's still here."

"To recover from her injury," Superman said.

"Which she did over a month ago," Diana pointed out.

"But she did help Nightwing," Flash pointed out. "We've given the bad guys a head start before when they've helped us, why not this time?"

Diana wholly disagreed. "I think that her being housed and fed is repayment enough. She's a wanted criminal responsible for stealing billions worth in jewels, not to mention all the other things she's guilty of."

"She's right," Batman agreed. "We can't make exceptions when it comes to criminals."

"We'll have to arrange it later," John said. "Our schedules tomorrow are a little busy."

Batman said, "Mine isn't. I will deal with it."

"Are you certain?" Superman asked.

"Yes, she will be dealt with."

J'onn checked down the list. "That is everything for this meeting, apart from going over what is happening tomorrow."

"We're prepared," Wonder Woman said. "We've all been busy making sure our towers open without incident and our speeches are all done and ready."

John gestured to Flash. "Even Wally's been taking it seriously."

"Hey," Flash said feeling offended. "I take things seriously."

"But not as often as you should," Shayera said with a smirk.

"I've got this," he said. "You'll see, nothing will go wrong."

Green Lantern folded his arms. "Famous last words."

Superman offered his support. "I think you'll do fine."

"Thanks, supes."

"That is everything for now," J'onn said.

Superman stood up. "Then we're adjourned."

The founders of the Justice League all rose up from their seats and promptly left the room.


	3. Chapter 3

****Chapter Three****

 ** **Gordon Residence****

 ** **Gotham City****

 ** **18:24 – EDT****

 ** **United States****

 ** **August 15, 2007****

James "Jim" Gordon pulled the front door open and smiled broadly when he saw who it was.

"You know, I can drive myself Barb," he said giving her a hug.

His daughter, Barbara disagreed. "It's your retirement party, dad. Let me deal with traffic."

"You look lovely," he said.

"And you look sharp," she said right back. "I decided to bring a friend along, I hope you don't mind."

"I don't mind, Barb. Anyone that I know?"

"Maybe," she said. "Are you ready?"

"I'm ready," he said as he grabbed his coat and stepped out of the house, locking the door behind him. The two made their way to the car and Barbara's blonde friend stepped out of the car.

"Evening Mr Gordon," she said. "Do you want to sit in the front?"

"I'll be fine in the back," he replied. "Might as well be chauffeured in style."

Barbara gestured to her friend. "You know umm-"

"Karen," the blonde said. "Karen Kent."

"I think I remember you," Gordon said.

"We've met only a couple of times," she said.

"Well I'm glad Barb keeps good company," he said.

"Babs keeps the best company, don't ya."

Barbara rolled her eyes. "Let's just get in the car and get going."

They all climbed in and buckled up before Barbara started the engine. She put the car in drive and checked her mirrors before setting off.

Jim Gordon's retirement had come at a perfect time. Crime in Gotham was at the lowest it had been since forever and things were actually starting to look up.

Of course there were still spikes here and there and the more dangerous criminals such as Jonathan Crane or Killer Croc still caused havoc once in a while, but ever since the Joker had bought it there had been a fear regarding the Batman that had seemingly driven some of the higher profile criminals such as Edward Nigma and Pamela Isley out of the city.

Whether they had actually left or not was still not known and whether it was connected with the downfall of the Joker was also unknown. Regardless, they had certainly been unusually quiet as of late which was most unlike them and was something that Jim Gordon very much appreciated.

To Jim, he had completed the mission he had set out to do. Corruption unfortunately still existed within the city council and the police force, But they were much reduced and with crime down, he knew that the city was the safest it had been in a very long time.

While he knew eradicating crime completely was not a realistic goal, he had never dreamed of getting it so low. He knew it was temporary, that it was an abnormality and crime would soon again begin to rise up. He hoped he was wrong, but with this city, the struggle was nothing but eternal with only brief respites.

This particular respite just happened to be the best one in nearly one hundred years, perhaps ever.

"So, what do you do for a living?" Jim asked Karen.

She looked around. "I'm in between jobs at the moment."

"What did you do?"

"I worked on a farm."

"I bet that was hard work."

"Um, yeah, I guess it was."

"What are you going into?"

She glanced at Barbara. "I'm undecided," she said.

"There's a lot of unemployment in Gotham," Jim said. "It's one of the reasons crime is so high, even now when it's at its lowest, it still soars above the national average."

"Well I'm from Metropolis," she told him.

"The same is true there," Jim said. "I wish you luck, kid."

"Thanks."

Jim looked out of the side window at the passing traffic and buildings. He usually wasn't a passenger and tended to drive himself, but it was nice not having to deal with the traffic. Even at this time, it could be quite heavy depending on the part of town they were in.

It took a good twenty minutes to arrive. The three of them made their way up to the entrance to the party which lay in a large plaza near police headquarters.

It was clear that there was a lot of security. Jim Gordon knew he had made a lot of enemies over the years and they might see this retirement party as a good time to strike. Everyone had to be on their guard.

Gordon began shaking hands, starting with Mike Akins, the new Gotham City police commissioner.

"I hope you're settling in," Gordon said.

"It's a tough job," Akins replied. "But I've got a handle on it."

"Good to know, Mike. I'm sure you'll do the city proud."

"Thanks, Jim. Enjoy the party."

As Akins walked off Karen spoke in a hushed voice. "He doesn't like you."

"No," Gordon agreed.

That took Barbara by surprise. "I thought you were friends."

"Not really," Gordon said. "He doesn't like the faith I put in Batman or Capes in general."

"He might have a point," Barbara muttered.

Gordon didn't hear her, but noticed the frown that crossed Karen's face, but decided to ignore it as he noticed Bruce hadn't arrived yet. He wondered if something was keeping him.

* * *

 ** **Wayne Manor****

 ** **Gotham City****

 ** **United States****

 ** **19:**** ** **4**** ** **5 – EDT****

Bruce Wayne stared at himself in the mirror. It was strange to think that he was the man looking back at him. Without the cape and cowl, he felt like a stranger, like a fraud.

"Master Bruce," Alfred said from behind. "You were supposed to be at the party at seven."

"I know. Business on the Watchtower kept me."

"Of course, sir. And what of Batman? Isn't he expected to show, even if it's just to brood?"

"I have that figured out. J'onn's going to play me. He'll be making an appearance on the roof of a nearby building."

"Will they see him, though, sir?"

"Yes, they will. The party is outside in a plaza near the station, so they should get a good view of him. If not, I'll point him out. As long as Batman's seen, it should be enough."

"Do you think Commissioner Gordon will be fine with that though, sir? He and Batman have been working together for a number of years. To simply show up and leave doesn't seem like enough."

"It will have to do, Alfred, besides he already knows, he figured it out a while ago. For him, me showing up will be enough. Batman showing up is for everyone else."

"Of course, sir. Still, couldn't Mister Jones interact as Batman?" he asked referring to J'onn J'onzz.

"I don't feel comfortable doing that, Alfred. Besides, as long as Bruce Wayne and Batman are seen in the same place at one point, then it'll be enough to not look suspicious."

"Which I might add sir, it is and always remains a surprise to me that you haven't been discovered yet."

"I'm careful. Though I don't want Bruce to disappear before Batman shows up. Doing that too much draws attention especially on such an important night." He adjusted his tie, which he found more than a little uncomfortable. "Let's get going."

The trip to the party took almost a half-hour, though in Bruce's opinion the journey wasn't long enough. It wasn't that he didn't want to celebrate Jim's years in the force, he did. Jim was a friend to Bruce Wayne as well as Batman. It was Barbara he didn't want to face.

The party itself was quite large. A lot of big players were there, including Hamilton Hill, the mayor. He had been re-elected so many times that he might as well move in and live at city hall. But like Jim Gordon, Hill was getting old and his body would force him to stand down sooner rather than later.

There was also Veronica Vreeland who was here alone without her husband. Bruce knew he was out on a business trip, even though he wasn't meant to know as it wasn't public knowledge.

She had been married more times than he cared to count, though this last time might be more serious as they'd been together for a number of years now. The two of them had had a young daughter by the name of Bunny who was coming up to being six years old and a son who was two if he remembered correctly. She had decided to keep her family name of Vreeland which her daughter shared. Their son had his father's name. He wasn't exactly sure why they had decided on that but it wasn't really any of his business.

"Bruce," Veronica greeted.

"Veronica," he said back.

"Still no woman on your arm I see," she pointed out.

"And I don't see your husband on yours," he replied.

"He's out of town on a business trip," she said. "Not everyone can afford to only spend a few hours at work a week, Bruce. Some people actually put in the time and care about their business interests instead of spending all their time playing golf, or whatever it is you do."

"I keep myself busy."

"I'm sure you do. A word of warning, Summer Gleeson and Vicki Vale are at the party and they've been asking people questions."

"I'll try and avoid them," he said. As well as mentally adding, _as well as Barbara._

Unfortunately, it wasn't to be. Jim Gordon approached with Barbara at his side. The now-former commissioner held out his hand. "Glad you could make it, Bruce."

"Wouldn't miss it," Bruce said.

"You, of course, know Barbara," Jim said with a small gesture.

"Of course," Bruce said. "Barbara."

"Bruce," she said with a hard gaze.

Jim regarded the both of them for a moment. "Well, Barb, we won't keep you."

"I'll be with Karen."

Bruce watched her walk off to talk to a blonde. It wasn't until she turned around that he saw that it was Kara In-Ze. He then turned his attention back to Jim. "It's sad that you're giving this up."

"Don't worry Mike Akins will do a good job as the new commissioner."

"I hope so. He doesn't seem too fond of Batman or the Justice League as I understand it."

"I think he'll come around." Jim leaned in closer. "I don't know what happened between you and Barb, it's not really my business, but try and sort it out, yeah?"

"Nothing happened between us," Bruce said, hoping Jim wouldn't pry.

"If you say so," Jim said, looking back at the congregation. "I'm guessing you can't stay long."

"I can stay a few hours," Bruce answered.

"That's good news. I hope you prepared that speech for later."

"Don't worry, I have one prepared," he said placing his hand on his jacket pocket. Truth be told it was actually Alfred who had prepared the speech for him. Alfred was good at that kind of thing. He himself had detailed what he wanted to say and Alfred had made it presentable.

"Do you think Batman will show?" Gordon asked with a sly smile.

"Yes, I do," Bruce answered knowingly.

The two of them continued to talk while Barbara stood with Kara, who she'd invited along so she would have someone to talk too. Her old friends from high school and college had either left town, or her role as Batgirl had caused them to become estranged.

Barbara was telling Kara about how her time in the academy was going. She had left the desk job of being an analyst and was moving to the role of a beat-cop, which required re-training.

"Here's the crazy thing," Barbara said quietly. "I half-assed the obstacle course so I didn't raise any suspicions and I still got record time. Dad's proud that I'm going to follow in his footsteps, but he's also concerned. This city can be pretty nasty."

"I thought you were following in his footsteps before?" Kara asked.

"By joining the force as an analyst, sure, but this time I'm actually following him. He started on the streets, not behind a computer screen, not that there were really computers back when he started. My plan is to eventually get up to homicide department like dad did, then eventually shoot for commissioner."

"That's a high goal to reach," Kara pointed out. "Do you think you can?"

"Yeah. I think I could make it to police commissioner, eventually."

Kara's attention was drawn elsewhere. "Hold on, is that Batman?" she asked, pointing.

Others heard her and looked up at the building across the way. Sure enough stood atop in a floodlight was the Dark Knight.

Barbara looked around to see Bruce still talking with her father. "That's an impressive trick, or it would be," she mumbled, wondering if the man on the roof was, in fact, the Martian or someone else from the league.

The faux Batman remained there for several minutes before disappearing into the night. Not long after that, the speeches began.

First was from the new commissioner, Michael Akins who thanked Gordon for his close to forty years of service. Next up was Lieutenant Harvey Bullock who said a few words. After he was done, Captain Renee Montoya took the stage.

Montoya had rocketed up the chain of command over the last decade. There were questions as to whether she was ready to command her own precinct, but time and again she had shown herself more than capable.

Then came Bruce Wayne's speech, or rather Alfred's. Barbara knew enough to know at best Bruce helped but didn't write it. She listened to him speak and almost believed what he said was sincere. What she didn't know was that Bruce did, in fact, mean every last word.

He spoke of how Gordon had started to turn the city around. Of how today the city was starting to become vibrant even welcoming and he thanked the commissioner for that. Her father, of course, proclaimed that it was Batman who had done that, but Bruce as ever the diplomatic type insisted that it was really all him.

Finally, her father spoke. He told of how proud he was of the force of everyone in it. Then he handed over his position to Michael Akins, who graciously accepted. In reality, Akins was already the commissioner, he had been for the last week or so. This was more of a symbolic gesture.

It was the end of an era, a great era. She just hoped, as did Bruce that Akins was up for the job and he wouldn't let Gotham or its police force slip back into its history of abuse and corruption.

* * *

 ** **Gordon Residence****

 ** **Gotham City****

 ** **23:04 – EDT****

 ** **United States****

The night had gone quite well. After Barbara had taken her father back home the two headed inside while Karen waited in the car.

"Well, that's it," Jim said as he took off his shoes. Jim clenched his jaw and stared at the wall, something that Barbara noticed.

"Retirement's not boring you already is it?" she asked.

He looked at her. "No, it's nothing like that." He fell silent.

"Are you alright?" Barbara asked, putting her arm around him in concern.

He pulled away slowly shaking his head. "Listen, Barb, what happened to Tim. It broke up the team, didn't it?"

She stared at him for a moment before shaking her head. "No, Bruce broke up the team. He pushed everyone away, wouldn't let any of us in. He practically disowned Tim. Sure, he paid for him to get the best treatment and for those treating him to keep their mouths shut about what Tim told them. But that's all he did. He never went to see him, not once."

"He must have gone to see him," Jim said disbelievingly. "Batman may be a bit cold, but Bruce has got a good heart."

"No, dad, he doesn't. Maybe once, but it's now dead and withered. Tim is better off without him, he's better off out of that life and with a stable family and so am I."

"I'm proud of you, Barb," Jim told her sincerely. "Proud that you care so much about the people of this city, proud that you haven't let the underbelly of this city drag you down."

"Thanks, dad, that means a lot."

"I love you Barb."

"Love you too, dad. Listen, I should probably be heading off."

"Of course," he said. "I'll see you soon."

"Yeah, see you, dad."

After giving him a hug, she left the house and jogged back to the car. She climbed in and gripped the wheel hard.

"You alright Babs?" Kara asked with concern. "Did something happen?"

"It's nothing."

"Doesn't look like nothing. You can talk to me, I'll listen."

"It's just that seeing Bruce tonight. It brought up some unpleasant memories, some that I'd rather forget."

"Your dad talked about Tim, didn't he?"

"You listened in?" Barbara asked, knowing full well how good Kara's ears were.

"Yeah, sorry."

"I've recently gone through one of the worst times in my life. My dad was there for me, but I kept so much back. He knew that I was Batgirl, but it had become so ingrained to keep Batgirl and Barbara Gordon separate that I just couldn't talk about it. I kept it bottled up and no matter how hard dad tried I couldn't open up to him about it. I felt lost."

"I'm sorry I wasn't here for you," Kara apologised.

"You've apologised enough," Barbara said. "I understand, you felt trapped under Clark and we're all primitives to you. I get it."

"When you say it like that it seems really shallow."

"Maybe because it was shallow of you to run off to the future when there were people back here that cared about you, that needed you."

The two of them fell silent. Barbara glanced at Kara. "Sorry, I didn't mean that."

"You're right, Babs. I was selfish. I cared about myself and not about those that would miss me."

"I'm selfish too for expecting you to be there. You have your own life to live."

"I guess we're all a little selfish to an extent."

"I guess you're right."

There was an uncomfortable silence, which Kara broke. "If you want, we can go for a fly sometime like we used too. Remember, you sat on my shoulders?" she said trying to lighten the mood.

Barbara chuckled. "I remember. And it sounds like fun."

"It was."

"Yeah, it was," Barbara agreed. "Sometimes I wish I could go back, y'know. Me, Tim and Bruce with the occasional Dick."

"Out of context that sounds really bad," Kara pointed out.

Barbara laughed. "Yeah, it does. But I miss those days. It's tougher knowing that I can't go back."

"I know what that's like. When I first came to Earth, I had to deal with the fact that everyone I knew was dead, but also with these growing powers that were out of control. It was tough at first and it got easier, but I'm still not over it, not completely."

Barbara suddenly felt really selfish. Here she was complaining about what happened to her when Kara had lost everyone and everything. It was something that she kept forgetting about and it made her feel like a bad person.

"Sorry," Barbara said finally. "My problems must seem trivial."

"Nobody's problems are trivial to themselves," Kara said. "You went through a hard time. I should have been here for you and I wasn't."

"It was out of your control," Barbara said. "And it's in the past now."

"Yeah, it's in the past. I wish we could get back to the fun stuff."

"Yeah, you're right," Barbara agreed. "Let's put the bad stuff behind us and look forward to the future."

"It'll be fun."

Barbara smiled. "Yeah, it'll be fun."


	4. Chapter 4

****Chapter Four****

 ** **Melbourne Tower****

 ** **Melbourne****

 ** **Australia****

 ** **09:51 – AEST****

 ** **August 16, 2007****

Flash was feeling somewhat nervous. It wasn't the crowds or the questions or anything like that. He didn't really know why he felt the way he did. Maybe it was a fear of failure, or maybe it was the responsibility.

Or perhaps it was because he felt like he was neglecting his hometown. That he was letting the people of Central City down by being here thousands and thousands of miles away. While it was true that he could get there in a few minutes, it was still a long way away. A lot further than he felt comfortable with.

In a scarce few minutes, he would be going outside to meet some national leaders. The Prime Ministers of Australia and New Zealand was here as well as the leaders of some of the Melanesian countries. First up, he would officially tell the press and the people outside that the Melbourne tower was open, followed by speeches from the various leaders. He usually thrived in the limelight, but this time there was a huge responsibility on him.

His usual way of dealing with bad nerves was to joke a lot, to be goofy and funny. This time, however, he knew he had to keep at least a modicum of maturity if he was going to succeed in being a leader. He had to show authority and be serious.

And from that alone, he knew that this was going to be the most difficult thing he had ever done in his life.

Strong hands began to massage his back. He didn't have to look around as he could smell her fragrance. "You're really tense," Giganta said. "Got cold feet?"

"I'm fine," he lied.

"I can tell you're not, Flash."

He looked at the time. It was now three minutes until ten, which meant he had to get out there.

"I have to go," he told her.

"Good luck," she said patting him on the butt.

Flash moved down the hall and out of the main doors where he saw the crowd of people and the other heroes that had been assigned here.

There were also some fresh faces. Each tower had a leader, Flash being in command of this tower. His second wasn't a seasoned member of the Justice League, however, it was a fresh face, or rather a fresh mask, of a man known simply as the Dark Ranger. He had a sidekick called Scout and the two had apparently been partners for years.

Dark Ranger had been part of a group before. Unfortunately, it hadn't worked out. Flash hoped he had better luck this time. He also planned on getting to know him more as he did all the new faces.

There was also the Therianthrope, Tasmanian Devil, who actually creeped him out a bit. Giant scary animal people were definitely up there on his "Don't mess with" list.

One of the familiar faces that was stood up on the stand was Steel. He was third in the chain of command, Dark Ranger being given the second seat.

All of them were under Flash's command and he knew some, such as Steel, weren't exactly ecstatic about it. He knew they didn't want him to fail, they were just anticipating it. He wasn't going to fail, though. He wouldn't mess this up. He was a hero and he was a good one at that.

Flash moved up to the leaders, shaking the hand of the Australian Prime Minister first, then moving down until he was shaking the last two hands which were the President, then Prime Minister of Fiji.

The speedster wasn't up to speed on the politics of all the local governments, so he wasn't sure why Fiji had both a President and a Prime Minister, but that was something he could find out later. Right now he had a speech to make.

Flash moved over and stood on the dais behind the microphones. On his left was Dark Ranger and on his right was Steel. Before him was the autocue, which would tell him what to say. The only thing going through his mind at that point was to not tell any jokes. None at all. Just read the autocue, officially open the tower and be done with it. Unless of course, the crowd looked like they'd appreciate one and by the look of them, he figured they might.

The speedster cleared his throat before he began. "Good morning Australasia, Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia and all other places in Oceania. I'm Flash, but you probably already know that."

He glanced down to see the autocue had begun. It looked like there wouldn't be time for any light-hearted comments.

"Today is a special day," he began. "Today the Justice League go truly international. Our goal is to not only make your lives safer but to also hopefully make them happier too."

The autocue paused long enough for him to take a long look at the press and other civilians who had come to see the opening.

He looked back at the autocue and continued. "With the help of your already established local heroes such as Dark Ranger, we hope to garner your trust and form and continue to have a beneficial relationship."

Flash couldn't help but internally cringe a bit. This speech sounded nothing like him and if that wasn't bad enough, it was still going.

"Each and every hero that is part of the Justice League is here for you. We are not above you, we serve you as your protectors." With the next and final words he gestured towards the tall tower. "And now, I declare this tower open."

There was an applause and Flash stepped out from behind the microphones and did a small bow.

With that over with, Flash stepped down and the Australian Prime Minister stepped up to begin his speech. Flash moved over to where Steel and the Ranger were standing.

"You did well," Irons told him.

"Yeah, good on ya," Dark Ranger said in his thick Australian accent.

"Um, yeah, thanks," Flash said.

Steel looked towards the reporters. "I hope you two are ready for the questions and answers segment."

"Yep," Dark Ranger said.

"I'm ready for anything," Flash told them. "Fastest man alive. I can think of an answer before they've finished asking the question."

Irons rolled his eyes. "Let's concentrate on what the national leaders have to say. A question could easily be about something one of them said."

"Righto," Ranger agreed.

The three of them stood there and listened while the leaders all made their speeches about what it meant for the Justice League to have a base of operations here in this part of the world.

After the speeches were finished, the leaders headed inside where they would be given a tour of the tower later. While that was happening Flash, Dark Ranger and Steel took some questions, which the three did their best to answer. With the questions over, the league headed inside while the media and civilians slowly dispersed.

The Australian Ranger gestured towards Giganta who was stood in the doorway to a side room. "Looks like the big G is waitin' for ya, fella. We'll see ya up at the monitor station in a few, yeah?"

"Yeah," Flash said. "In a few."

"Remember that we have to give a tour," Irons reminded them.

"Gimme five minutes," Flash told them. "Then we'll start."

He nodded. "Both me and Dark Ranger will be waiting by the guest area."

The man in red walked over to the size-shifter, who was looking at him with a big warm smile.

"You did really well," Giganta applauded.

"I wish you were out there too with the other heroes."

"I'm still a felon, Flash," she said.

"Not for long," he assured her. "Before you know it, the people will love you."

"I appreciate it, Flash," she said genuinely. "I don't know where I'd be without you."

Flash gave her a quick kiss, which she reciprocated. "I have to go," he told her. "I have some Prime Ministers, presidents and other leaders and stuff to show around."

"I know. I'm heading back up to the Watchtower," she told him.

"I'll be up later," he told her.

"I'll be waiting."

Flash turned and headed up to the guest area. It was time to give a long and sure to be a boring tour.

* * *

 ** **Seoul Tower****

 ** **Seoul****

 ** **Republic of Korea****

 ** **11:21 – KDT****

 ** **August 16, 2007****

The speech J'onn had given had been very much like that Flash had given in Australia. What was different was that only a few leaders had come to attend the opening. Those leaders were from places such as Japan, South Korea itself, Vietnam and India.

Other leaders had been invited from all over Asia, but they had not replied or sought to attend. In his speech, J'onn had sought to clarify that this particular tower was not owned by South Korea. It was technically an embassy that was here to represent all Asian nations.

When they had finished with the questions they moved on to showing the leaders the tower. With him were Doctor "Kimiyo" Light and Rocket Red who were permanently assigned here along with him. Kimiyo was second to himself in leadership here with Rocket Red below her as third.

In some ways, it was like a military hierarchy, but without all of the protocols and customs. No one saluted them as there was no need to. They were all equals, the only difference was who was placed in charge and the only reason there was a leader, was to keep the league organised so it didn't fall into disarray.

The tour started on the ground floor and slowly worked its way up from there. They showed them everything they were comfortable with revealing, which excluded the teleporter and the simulation room.

As the tour came to a close, the leaders departed, all jovially and on what seemed to be good terms.

With that all done and out of the way, J'onn stood there on the upper level staring out of the giant window at the city beyond.

Kimiyo stepped up beside him also peering out. "Today went well," she said.

"It's not over yet," J'onn responded. "Not until all of the towers are open."

"I was referring to this tower," she clarified.

"Then yes, it went very well," he agreed. "However, we have a difficult task ahead of us. This is a rather turbulent area of the world and I am sure that we will have our work cut out for us."

"Diplomacy was never the job of the Justice League," Kimiyo pointed out.

"I would only partially agree," J'onn said. "I believe that it is our job if the need arises. Our main goal is to safeguard life and to stop those that wish to disrupt lives or cause others harm. However, that is only our main goal. We need to be mediators and peacekeepers. We need to try and help this world solve it's petty disputes if we can."

"Those petty disputes aren't so petty to those involved," Kimiyo commented, watching a plane in the distance slowly descend as it approached the airport on the far side of the city. "Life and death is something a lot of people deal with on a daily basis."

"That is true, but we are now in a far better position to change that now than before."

"But is it our place to change it?" Kimiyo asked him.

"Not directly, but we can offer people hope."

"And you think they will do the rest? People are selfish, J'onn. They will take our help but most of them won't even help themselves let alone those around them."

"Kindness breeds more kindness, Kimiyo," J'onn said.

"I wish that were true."

"It is true," J'onn said assuredly. "Perhaps not true for everyone, but enough to make a difference."

"I really hope you're right," she said as she turned away from the window.

J'onn hoped he was right as well.

* * *

 ** **Lagos**** ** **Tower****

 ** **Lagos****

 ** **Nigeria****

 ** **09:56 –**** ** **WAT****

 ** **August 16, 2007****

Lagos was a large city, though not a particularly tall city. At least not by American standards.

The Lagos Tower was by far the tallest structure around. Like a citadel that soared up into the clouds overlooking the population of over nine million.

Shayera stood there by the doors in her new armour, minus her helmet. She was starting to think she should have done this in more casual clothing as she had been wearing since rejoining the league. But it was too late for that. She would go out there looking like a warrior.

As well as missing her helmet, she was heading out there without her mace. She wanted to give them a good impression, though thanks to Superman asking earlier if she was going to war because of her new armour, she was worried that she was going to give the civilians of Earth a reason to be concerned.

She forced the thought from her head, knowing that out of her, the African hero Anansi and Big Barda that Barda was the most intimidating by far. By comparison, Shayera looked positively harmless.

Like the other towers, there were three leaders. She was at the top of that hierarchy with Anansi being her lieutenant. Big Barda out of the three was third and Shayera knew that she didn't like that very much. Barda was a natural leader and found it difficult taking orders from anyone.

Shayera felt the eyes of the crowd on her as she took up position between Anansi and Barda.

Anansi's costume was a long coat and a hat with a spider motif on them and a white tied back mask that covered the majority of his face. Barda was in her usual armour, which was golden and blue coloured armour and gold headdress. A long red cape hung from her back and blew slightly in the wind.

As the leader of Nigeria began to speak to those in the audience, Barda regarded Shayera as she stepped up beside them. This was the first time she had seen her in her new armour.

"Impressive," she said. "You now look like a true leader."

"Thanks," Shayera said quietly.

"It would look better with a helm."

"I have one, but I left it inside. Didn't want to intimidate the crowd too much."

"We'll make a warrior of you yet," Barda said, before looking over at Anansi. "And what about you? I hear you are a trickster that uses illusions to make fools of your enemies."

Anansi regarded the New God. "I hear disapproval in your words."

"Enemies that are fooled with simple tricks aren't worthy enemies," Barda put simply.

Anansi looked forwards towards the crowd. "Maybe not, but a villain is a villain whether they are worthy or not."

"That's true," Shayera agreed. "But maybe we should be listening to what's being said by the Nigeria President and the other leaders as a show of respect."

Anansi agreed, while Barda simply fell silent and eyed the nation's leader with a hard glare.

Shayera just hoped that when it came to question time that she could keep her hostility in check.

When the speeches finished they took some questions. The very first one didn't bode well for the rest.

A reporter which Shayera hoped never to see again asked something she had been dreading. "Considering your role during the Thanagarian invasion, what makes you think you are a good choice to lead this or any other Justice League tower?"

Shayera had already planned out a response to this question, though she had been hoping no one would ask it. "The true motivations of my people were unknown to me at that time. I believed they were here to help the Earth defend itself against the Gordanians. I was naïve and I had a bias towards my own people, I admit that. As soon as I discovered their true reason for being here I did what I could to stop them. I'm not happy with what I did and I doubt I can ever make amends. I am here to serve you, the people of this continent and the people of this planet. I am here to do what I can to make everyone's life safer, even if it's just a little bit. I am here to help all of you."

The rest of the questions seemed easy in comparison. She hated that the question regarding her past had come up, but she was also glad that it was the first thing that had been asked so she could get it out of the way.

* * *

 ** **Paris Tower****

 ** **Paris****

 ** **France****

 ** **10:35 – CET****

 ** **August 16, 2007****

As the final speaker, the leader of Italy finished his talk, Wonder Woman took the stage. While what she had to say was basically the same as everyone else's, except she delivered it quite differently. Flash was charismatic, J'onn exuded a certain wisdom and Shayera took a strangely more soft-spoken approach. Diana, on the other hand, spoke with an authority that made people listen.

Stood behind her on her left was Black Canary and a more local hero called Firehawk. The albino-looking woman who dressed in white and black. Right now, she looked normal, or at least as normal as a pure white-skinned, white-haired and pure white-eyed woman could look. When she was ready for battle, however, she had wings of white fire. Even her hair seemed to combust into white energy.

The most common description of Firehawk seemed to be warrior angel and further north in Scandinavia she was often described as the White Gold Valkyrie. Funnily enough, that most common description of the old Hawkgirl in Scandanavia as well. In fact, Diana herself had heard the league member Ice refer to Shayera a Valkyrie.

Black Canary was the second in command here and the equivalent of her general and Firehawk was third. Diana hadn't really had much of a chance to talk to Firehawk and didn't yet know her personality.

Like Wonder Woman herself, though, she did give off an air of authority. She hoped they would get along together as working with someone you didn't like was not fun. Her spat with Shayera a while back proved that and while she still hadn't truly forgiven her for what she had done, she had found a way to overlook it and move on.

Diana finished her speech and the three of them took some questions, which the Amazon allowed Canary and Firehawk to answer the most of mainly to see how they would respond and also because she didn't think she should have to explain herself or the league's motives or activities to anyone, not after everything they had done for this world and its people.

With the question segment done, so began the tour for the continent's leaders.


	5. Chapter 5

****Chapter Five****

 ** **Somewhere in Ontario****

 ** **Canada****

 ** **08:02 – EDT****

 ** **August 16, 2007****

Zari Tarin sat there at the small desk in her equally small cell. Her gaze was on the television, watching the coverage of the opening of the Justice League towers.

She hadn't slept since she had awoken here twenty-six hours ago. She didn't want to sleep anymore. She just wanted to find a way to escape from this place and to be free.

The young Thanagarian clenched her jaw as the screen went black. When it turned off without her input, it usually meant that someone wanted to talk to her. Usually, she didn't want to talk to them.

She turned to face the door as she heard Addison's voice. "We're very disappointed in you," he said. "We had made so much progress and you destroyed it all."

"I was watching that," she said in return. "Can you turn it back on?"

He ignored her insolence. "You're lucky we allow you to have a TV at all. Don't make us take it away from you."

"You might as well let me go," she said, not looking at him. "I'll escape eventually, anyway."

He sighed. "Zari, I've tried hard to keep you safe but the ones in charge want results."

She wasn't having it. "They want me to be their little drone you mean."

"They want you to be obedient."

"I'm not the obedient type. You might as well let me go because I'll get free eventually."

"We can't let someone as dangerous as you go freely, Zari."

She turned her head and looked at him, amazed by that comment. "Dangerous? I grew up on a farm. I'm hardly dangerous."

"You are clearly a skilled fighter."

"All Thanagarians are taught the basics of combat by their parents. You calling my basic combat knowledge 'skilled' is very telling."

"Listen Zari, your fighting skill, whatever level you see yourself at, is still a great asset to us. That and because of your natural strength."

"I'm stronger than you, yeah I get it."

"Listen Zari, listen very closely. There are aspects about you that the ones in charge don't see as assets or necessary and even see as an issue if you are to blend in. I have managed to convince them so far, but if you don't start behaving they might just take them from you."

"Take what from me?" she demanded standing up threateningly. "You've already taken my dignity by having me locked up in this cage, what else is there to take?"

There was no response. After a few minutes without him speaking, she figured he was gone. It was confirmed that he was gone when the television came back on.

She moved over to the bed and sat back down to watch. She couldn't focus on it though. What he had said plagued her mind. She wouldn't let them do anything to her. She would fight for as long as she had fight left in her, which was a lot.

No matter how long it took, or how many tries, she would find a way to escape.

* * *

 ** **Flying Grayson's Athletics Club****

 ** **Gateway City****

 ** **United States****

 ** **Time Unknown****

Richard "Dick" Grayson was good at discerning dreams especially when he was having them. He hadn't recalled many since opening up his club in Gateway City on the west coast, mainly because he hadn't slept much.

Right now he knew he was having a dream, but it felt different than the ones he usually had. Somehow it felt more real.

What was more strange was that he was in his Robin outfit, in its colours of red, yellow and green. This was unusual in itself. He hadn't dreamt of being Robin in a long time.

Things got stranger still. He looked out on the wreckage of a destroyed city wondering what could have caused it. Knowing it was a dream, he knew that nothing had caused it but his own imagination, but he still wondered within the context of the dream what caused it.

"You shouldn't be up here," the familiar voice of Batman said from behind.

He turned to see the taller man approach him. It was clear to him that he was even seeing the dream at a younger age as Batman definitely wasn't taller than him anymore.

"I wanted to see what we were fighting for," Dick's own voice said, sounding far more youthful than he had expected.

"We're almost ready," Batman said. "Come on."

Dick as Robin followed Batman as they descended through the old building down into the sewers. They moved along a platform until they made it to some kind of hatch. It opened and they stepped inside where he found Mister Freeze stood next to the Flash working on some kind of machine. This was definitely an unusual sight even for a dream.

He then caught sight of familiar long red hair. The girl turned around to reveal a much younger looking Starfire at an age he had never known her. Just as she opened her mouth to speak when his alarm went off.

His eyes opened and he looked at the time. It was ten to six in the morning. He rubbed his face and threw the covers to the side before climbing up out of bed.

He threw on some clothes and brushed his hair, putting it in a ponytail. He then quickly cleaned his teeth before doing his morning exercise routine. Having his own gym full of exercise machines was definitely a benefit.

He was ten minutes in when Starfire entered the room. She picked up a forty pound barbell with one hand and moved it over to the next one and picked that one up in the other hand. She then moved over to the store cupboard and opened it up, grabbing more plates from inside. She then began to put more and more weight on them until Richard called out.

"The bar is going to bend if you put much more on," he told her.

"It's not heavy enough," she said. "It's never heavy enough."

"Do more reps then."

"It's only at three-thousand pounds," she told him.

"No more, Star."

Starfire sighed and picked both up as though they were weightless. She went through the motions, which was to do a lot of repetitions.

He was glad he had gotten the bars made out of titanium, though he could see that they were bending pretty badly. Three thousand pounds was well beyond anything any normal person was expected to ever lift.

"Star," he said warningly as she began to balance the weights length-ways on their ends in her palms. "If they fall they'll smash the floor."

She put them down and began to take the plates off. "Dick, these simply aren't heavy enough for a proper workout. They feel like toy weights for small children."

"Sorry Star, but there aren't weights like that on Earth."

"Then how am I supposed to have a workout?" she asked him, folding her arms.

"You'll have to figure something else out. Ask Diana when she's next in town."

"When will that be?"

"She usually meets up with the Cassie girl at the abandoned car factory on a Friday."

"I may just do that, then," she said.

He watched her leave the room and let out a sigh. Sometimes she could be difficult to deal with. He couldn't blame her for feeling frustrated about things. She was in a strange place far from home. Things here worked differently and being unable to do something as simple as having a workout was definitely something that would frustrate him no end.

Dick decided to finish up early and left the gym. There was still over an hour before the place opened, plenty of time to have a talk with her.

He made his way upstairs into the apartment and found her sat in the living room watching a cartoon.

She turned to him and smiled. "Finished your workout?"

He frowned in response. There were times when he didn't understand her at all. Five minutes ago she seemed upset now she seemed happy.

"I came to see how you were doing?"

"I'm well, thanks for asking."

"Listen, about what we talked about. That old factory is sure to have some really heavy equipment you could lift or carry about or whatever. I'm sure Diana would be willing to let you join in with her training sessions with Cassie."

"Do you think so?"

"Positive."

"I hope so," she said looking back at the TV.

He regarded her for a few moments before he had a quick shower before returning downstairs. He needed to get things ready for when the place opened at eight.

* * *

 **Redwood Forest**

 **Outside San Francisco**

 **United States**

 **07:58 – PDT**

Galatea stepped into the kitchen finding Emil sat at the table with some toast on a plate reading a newspaper.

"Good morning," she said as she pulled out a chair and sat opposite him.

He lowered the newspaper. "Morning Tea," he said as he folded it up and put it down before picking up a slice of toast taking a bite out of it.

She grabbed an apple out of the fruit basket that sat in the centre of the table.

"Going out for a hike again today?" he asked her.

"Yeah, probably," she said taking a bite.

"Just make sure you're careful and be back before nightfall."

She finished chewing before answering. "Don't worry so much, dad. I'll be fine. I'm nearly indestructible, remember? I don't have to watch out for the wilderness, the wilderness has to watch out for me."

"Just don't draw any attention and keep away from the other holiday homes and those ranger towers."

"You tell me that every time," she said rolling her eyes.

"Maybe because I'm not sure you're listening to me."

"I am listening. Don't worry so much."

"I worry because the people after us have a lot of resources. I know what they're capable of."

"So do I, but I'm not gonna sit around bored out of my head."

"You enjoy exploring, I understand that. Just be careful."

"Don't worry, I will. See you tonight," she said as she stepped out of the kitchen apple still in hand.

A few minutes later she had finished her apple was outside heading away from the house and into the trees, tossing the apple core into a bush.

There was something very serene and peaceful about the forest. Being surrounded by the sounds of the animals and the rustling of the leaves in the slight stopped briefly to watch a squirrel run up the side of a tree into the branches. It was enough to put a smile on her face.

Things were definitely different than they had been when she was at Cadmus. Her whole purpose had been to follow orders and it was usually to make someone disappear, to scare someone into silence or simple surveillance.

Surveillance had been the most tedious. It had usually involved spying on someone or multiple people by either listening in using her heightened sense of hearing or lip reading either from afar or through walls. Then report back.

Then came the incident on the Watchtower where she had nearly been fried. From there she had been hidden away in some facility near Keystone and Central City. Her powers had been taken from her, both by a red sunlamp and a collar. She had learnt how to fight without relying on her powers and she had started to understand discipline.

And then they had tried to kill her and if it hadn't been for Emil Hamilton, the man she saw as her father, they would have succeeded.

And now she was here, enjoying the wilderness, trying to forget that there were people after her possibly still wanting to kill her. She knew what they were like and she certainly knew what they were capable of.

She acted brave, but in her head, she knew that it was only a matter of time before they did find her. When they did, she would fight with everything she had and as she was of Kryptonian stock, that was a lot. More than what most could even comprehend.

Satisfied she was now far enough away from the house so that her father wouldn't see her, she took to the sky.

The flight was brief as she soon arrived at her destination, a small lake surrounded by a skirt of trees.

She like skipping stones, or rather large rocks across the water. She picked one up and threw it in a curve. It hit the water and bounced several times, causing a lot of water to spray up off of the surface with each hit. It quickly lost momentum and dunked beneath the lake.

For quite a while she stood there and watched the shimmering of the water, taking in the sights, sounds and smells of her environment. It relaxed her, helped her forget that anything existed beyond the forest. It encapsulated her, surrounded her and made her feel warm.

Feeling at peace, she once more took to the sky.

If there was a choice, she would stay here forever. She knew that eventually she would grow bored of it and that they would have to leave eventually anyway, perhaps sooner rather than later, but right now this was the perfect existence.

If there was one thing that Galatea could take away from the experience of being here, it was that she enjoyed exploring and out here there was a lot to explore.

One day, in particular, she had found an underground cave system that had previously been sealed off from the outside world. She had seen it using her x-ray vision and had decided to investigate.

Exploring it had been an adventure in itself. At one point she had found a skeleton clutching a tomahawk half buried under the rock. At first, she had wanted to take the weapon as some sort of souvenir, but decided to leave the weapon with its owner out of respect.

Galatea often wondered if she would find anything like the cave again. There was a lot of wilderness to explore and she knew that while she had covered a lot of area, she knew that she had probably flown over a lot of interesting things without realising it.

Still, it was early in the day and there were plenty of opportunities to find something interesting.

* * *

 ** **Rio Tower****

 ** **Rio De Janeiro****

 ** **Brazil****

 ** **16:55 – BRT****

The morning had gone well. Better than John Stewart could have hoped for. The Latin American leaders had come and made their speeches; the few that came that is, and so had he. They answered questions and then gave the leaders the tour of their tower.

One thing plagued his mind, though, and that was the economic disparity here in this city. The rich were very rich but the poor were very, very poor.

While the same could be said about America, especially in his home-town of Detroit, here the contrast was to the extreme.

As with all the other towers, there was a hierarchy of three leaders. At the bottom of the three was Fire. Then there was his friend, Rex, or Metamorpho who agreed to come with him on this assignment. Then there was himself.

He glanced over as Fire stepped up beside him and looked across the city.

"It might be far from perfect," she began in her thick accent, "but this is my home. The place that raised me."

He turned to her. "Must be strange being back here?"

"Yah, a bit."

Fire had been living on the Watchtower since joining the extended Justice League. She and Ice were close. Some said they were more than just friends, but that was just a rumour and John didn't put much stock in rumours.

He did know a little about her history. Beatriz had started out her adult life as an amateur model here on the beaches of Rio. At some point she had been exposed to some toxin, changing her into what she was today, though how she was exposed was a little mysterious. Again, he didn't put faith in rumours, but it was said that she had been an agent for the Brazilian government and that's how she had been exposed. He would have to ask her about it someday.

John's ear communicator began to beep in his ear, interrupting his thoughts. He activated it. "Lantern," he said.

Mister Terrific's voice came over the line. " _I'm calling all of the founders to the tower. I have two Green Lanterns here and they say they have urgent news."_

That surprised him. He hadn't been expecting anyone. "I'm on my way," he said.

He looked over at Fire. "Tell Rex that I've been called up to the Watchtower."

She nodded. "Understood."

John moved off towards the teleporter. It wasn't a well-known fact, but the Towers were shielded against the teleporters. It was a fairly new feature and the new ones had been constructed with the shielding in the walls. The Metro Tower was currently having the upgrade, which would make the league's buildings the most secure on Earth.

As he teleported up there, he wondered what the news could be.


	6. Chapter 6

****Chapter Six****

 ** **Watchtower II****

 ** **Earth Orbit****

 ** **16:11 – EDT****

 ** **August 16, 2007****

It was strange to be sitting here aboard the Justice League's orbital Watchtower.

When Kyle Rayner had first left Earth as a Green Lanternrecruit, he had never imagined anything like this in orbit around his home planet and he had also never imagined there to be such an organisation as the Justice League.

After what he had seen out there in the universe, he was definitely glad the league existed to protect it. Especially now.

He glanced to the alien woman Hirunan, who sat on his right. Both he and the light purple-skinned and haired alien had become very close over the last few years. Closer than Katma felt was appropriate for them to be. But they had never let whatever their relationship was get in the way of their duty as Lanterns.

Kyle kept rubbing his hands across his pants while they waited to be called to speak with the Justice League founders. He was feeling apprehensive about the whole thing.

Hirunan regarded him. "You're nervous, aren't you?"

He nodded slowly. "Well the last time I was here at Earth we were willing to blow it up, so yeah, I'm feeling a bit nervous."

"I don't think they'll hold it against you."

"I hope not."

They both looked up as the door opened and a blonde woman in dark blue stepped just inside.

"I'm Argo, or Kara if you prefer," she greeted. "You're Kyle, right?"

He nodded an affirmative. "Yeah, I'm Kyle." He gestured to his partner. "This is Hirunan."

"Pleased to meet you. I'll take you to the meeting room. They're waiting for you."

Both Kyle and Hirunan stood up and followed her out of the room.

"So," Argo began, "any particular reason you're here?"

"We're here to discuss it with the league founders," Kyle told her. "Sorry for the secrecy."

"That's fine," she said. "It's just up the hall here," she said as she led them to a door. "It's just in here. You can go in when you're ready."

Kyle watched as she strode away. This action was met by a rather sharp elbow in the ribs.

"Stop checking her out," Hirunan accused.

"I was not," he said rubbing his side.

"I saw you. If you wanna check someone out, I'm stood right here."

He smirked. "Sure, but now's probably not the right time."

They both stepped forward and the doors slid open, revealing the seven sat at the circular table.

As soon as the doors closed behind them, John Stewart spoke. "I wasn't expecting you here, what's going on?"

Kyle cleared his throat before he responded. "We've been assigned to this sector. Both me and Hirunan."

"You have?" John said in surprise, glancing towards Shayera. "Do I have new orders? Am I being reassigned?"

"Yes and No," Kyle said. "You're the commanding Lantern of this sector, we are both assigned under your authority."

Batman eyed them questioningly. This seemed very irregular to him and anything even slightly out of the ordinary raised his suspicions. "Why have you been assigned here?" he demanded.

Kyle looked at him. "Because of the threat from the Vega Alliance," he told them, knowing that he was going to have to explain it.

"Vega Alliance?" Shayera questioned.

"Yes," he confirmed. "The Citadel, the Psions, the Gordanians, Tamaraneans and the Orange Lanterns."

Shayera went rigid, while John webbed his fingers, a deep frown etching its way across his features. The dark-skinned lantern then responded to the rather unwelcome news. "What are the Guardians doing about it?"

"At this point an all-out assault is out of the question. Our espionage has revealed that they are already too strong for that and we would end up losing too many Lanterns and it would leave too many unprotected. We are attempting to rally allies, but most aren't interested in fighting them unless they're attacked first."

"Are they really that powerful?" Superman asked.

Shayera nodded slowly. "Yes an alliance like that would be very powerful."

"You said the Tamaraneans," Wonder Woman asked.

"Yes," Kyle confirmed. "Why?"

"Starfire's Tamaranean," Wonder Woman pointed out, reminding the others of the girl's existence. "She's currently in Gateway City."

"She's in Gateway?" Superman asked. "I wondered where she got to."

Batman answered for Diana. "Nightwing and Koriand'r have been watching over Cassie and her mother on and off since the museum incident. Diana thought that Aresia might try and harm them."

"Isn't Aresia in custody now, though?" Superman pointed out.

"Yes, but I asked them to stay a little longer," Wonder Woman said. "Even though Aresia is in high-level containment, she may still be able to escape."

Batman nodded. "Then you'll be going down to see what she knows about it?"

"Yes, but it will have to be later," she said. "Nightwing owns an athletics club, so it will have to be after they've closed."

Kyle raised a hand, drawing attention back to him. "If there's a Tamaranean down there, then I should probably tell you that their new queen is someone by the name of Kommand'r. Perhaps she knows her?"

Batman glared. "I don't know much about Tamaranean naming conventions but those we have met had names ending in _and'r_. Koriand'r and Ryand'r. They were siblings."

"Ryand'r is the brother of Kommand'r," Hirunan told them. "He and the other members of the Omega Men were driven out of the sector. Apparently Kommand'r killed their parents and took control of Tamaran and its forces."

"So that means the new queen of Tamaran and Koriand'r are siblings," Shayera said.

"Will Koriand'r be trustworthy?" Superman asked. "She might side with her sister if they come here."

Shayera pointed out what should have been obvious. "Her parents gave her up so that she could be abused, tortured and experimented on by the Citadel, Gordanians and Psions. I doubt she'll run to join them anytime soon."

Kyle concluded. "We were sent here because this sector has been designated as high risk for possible invasion."

There was silence. A long uncomfortable silence. Despite knowing that they should be used to invasions by now, none of the seven could say they had been expecting it.

Kyle pulled out a Lantern Ring. "We have also been instructed to find a new recruit," he said, letting the ring go.

It floated suspended in the air before it began to slowly drift towards Shayera.

She tucked her hands under her arms. "Not a chance," she said.

The ring seemed to alter its direction and move in Batman's direction. He glowered. "Don't even think about it."

Kyle grabbed the ring out of the air and pocketed it. "We'll have to search for likely recruits."

"How long will that take?" Wonder Woman asked.

"Depends," Hirunan said. "The ring itself is a good judge of who can wield it. We'll have to find candidates and then let the ring decide from there."

"I think we should wait for now," John suggested as he stood up. "We'll get you both settled in first. Discuss the finer points later."

Superman looked at everyone at the table. "I guess that means this meeting's adjourned."

Wonder Woman and Batman left the room, followed soon after by John and the two Green Lanterns, leaving J'onn, Superman, Shayera and Flash alone.

Shayera slowly rose to her feet the moment the three Lanterns were gone. "This is not good news," she said, leaning forwards onto the table. "The Gordanians decimated the Thanagarian military pretty much alone. As part of an alliance they might be unstoppable."

Flash leant back in his chair resting his arms behind his head. "We'll beat 'em if they come here. We always win, we're the good guys."

Shayera looked over at J'onn who sat there quietly. "The good guys don't always win," she said.

J'onn turned his gaze to her. "No," he agreed completely. "They do not."

"Oh," Flash said as he realised.

J'onn was the last Martian, his whole race had been wiped out. He was alone in a lot of ways, even though the others tried to make him feel welcome. He had never gotten over it and he never would. No one expected him too, either.

"Sorry, J'onn," Flash apologised.

"It was long ago," the Martian said. "But I vow never to let that happen again to anyone else. I will defend the Earth and its people with everything I have."

The mood was now dour. Even Flash looked a little depressed.

Superman drew everyone's attention as he said, "I think we should call this a day."

The others agreed and vacated the room. The news of the Vega Alliance had shaken all of them. Only a few months ago a handful of Gordanian ships had given them a lot of trouble. Of course, that had changed once they had their gun back online, but the threat was till there. If the Watchtower was destroyed in the opening salvo, then they were in for a difficult time.

All they could do was prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

* * *

 ** **Flying Grayson's Athletics Club****

 ** **Gateway City****

 ** **United States****

 ** **19:0**** ** **1**** ** **– PDT****

Life was starting to feel strangely normal for Dick Grayson. While there had been stability in his life for years now, this was a new kind of stability. One where there was far less risk of him finding himself broken or dead.

He also got to bed at a reasonable hour instead of when the sun was starting to peak over the horizon.

With a click of the lock, the front door to the club was now closed. He quickly did one more round to make sure the place was empty before hemade his way across the foyer to a side door which read: STAFF ONLY.

He unlocked it and made his way up the stairs to his apartment that lay on the top floor of the large building and strolled over to the monitoring room.

Dick sat down behind a large series of computer screens and picked up an earpiece, sliding it into his ear and made the call.

" _Hello, Nightwing,"_ Starfire's voice said over the line.

"How're things going, Star?" he asked.

" _They're going great_ _. I'll be home soon."_

"Did anything happen?"

" _No, today's evening patrol went without incident._ _There was a mugging, but some civilians took care of it._ _He is in police custody_ _._ _"_

"That's good news," he said leaning back in his chair.

About a week ago he had decided to let Starfire go out and start patrolling the city. Gateway wasn't really known for supervillains and she was more than able to deal with anything that came her way.

Already, however, she had started itching for something a little more. Fighting Aresia around a month ago now was what had spurned her want to patrol and he knew she wanted a tough fight, something that challenged her.

He on the other hand wasn't quite as eager as she was about it. Sure, she was strong, resilient and smart, but he also had come to care deeply about her. He knew how evil and how horrific supervillains could be. He didn't want her to be exposed to that, not after what she had already been through.

As he pulled the earpiece out of his ear, he felt a presence behind him. He spun his chair around and leapt out ready to fight.

Instead of some would-be burglar, he found Wonder Woman stood there, her arms folded.

"What are you doing?" he demanded. "I could have seriously hurt you."

"I doubt it," she said dismissively. "How soon will she be back? I have some news."

"Any moment now," he answered. He then gestured for the hallway. "We'll wait through here."

Dick led theway to the living room. Diana sat down on the three-person sofa, while Dick remained by the door. "Do you want anything to drink?"

"No, I'll be fine," she answered.

He moved further into the room and seated himself next to Diana.

"You said you had news?" he asked. "I'm guessing it's not good news?"

"We'll wait until Starfire arrives, then I'll tell the both of you."

Not five minutes later, he heard the chime that indicated the door to the roof had been opened.

"Diana's come to visit." he called out.

Starfire came in through the living room door with a smile as she put on a necklace which had been a gift from Zatanna. The moment it was around her neck, her skin changed from golden orange to tanned.

"We weren't expecting you," she said, opening her arms for a hug.

Diana shook her head refusing. Starfire lowered her arms while the Amazon spoke. "I have some bad news."

"Oh?" Starfire asked as she moved over and sat down next to her on the opposite side to where Dick was seated.

"It's about your homeworld, Tamaran."

She knitted her brow. "What about it?"

"It has joined something called the Vega Alliance."

"Alliance?" Starfire questioned. "What alliance?"

Diana wasted no time in explaining what she knew. "It encompasses the Citadel, the Psions, the Gordanians and the Orange Lanterns as well as the Tamaraneans."

Starfire shook her head in disbelief. "No," she uttered. "No, my parents would never join them, never. It isn't something they would do. It goes against everything."

"They didn't," Diana said. "I'm afraid if the reports are true, then your parents are dead. Your sister, Kommand'r is not only responsible, but has taken the throne and has joined this alliance."

"Kommand'r?" Starfire questioned in disbelief. "But she is not worthy to take the throne. She does not have the fire within her that our people possess. By all counts with me gone it should have fallen to Ryand'r." She shook her head again. "It can't be true."

"I'm afraid it is," Diana told her. "I'm sorry. From what we were told, your brother and the Omega Men were driven from the sector and they went to the Green Lanterns for help."

"I cannot believe my people would go along with it," Starfire said, her gaze on the carpet. "To let her kill our parents and then allow her to make an alliance with our enemies?"

The Tamaranean stood up and made her way over to the window. She peered out of it at the small park that lay across the street. "My people truly have become weak. To allow this to happen? How could they?"

Dick moved over to her and rested his hands on her shoulders. "Are you okay?" he asked with concern.

"I don't know," she answered. "When I was a child, I thought I knew my people. I was told stories of our strength, not only physical but our own personal mental strength as well. I was told that one day I would lead our people and I believed them."

She turned to face him. "One day that changed. It changed when they cast me off to the Citadel. I know I should care what happens to my people, but I'm not sure that I do. My parents gave me up to be a slave which led to me being experimented on by the Psions. Every day I prayed to X'hal that I would be rescued and every day I hated my parents a little bit more. Now they're dead and I feel nothing. I'm not glad or happy they're gone, but I'm also not sad or angry either. I feel nothing."

Dick put his arms around her in a hug. "I'm sorry."

She hugged him back. "Earth is my home now," she said softly.

Wonder Woman sat there feeling awkward. Especially when she had been meaning to ask them for a favour since well before they had received the news about the Vega Alliance. Now she wasn't sure how to ask.

"I know this might not be the best time," she began. The two of them looked over at her. "I am going to be a lot more busy for the foreseeable future with the new tower in Europe. Cassie Sandsmark still needs some guidance and I might not be able to accommodate her as much as I'd like."

Dick surmised what she was saying. "You want us to take over her training?"

"Not entirely. Only when I can't make it," Diana clarified.

"You're right," Dick said shaking his head. He turned his gaze back onto Starfire. "This isn't the time."

To his surprise, Starfire accepted. "We will do it."

"We will?" Dick asked. "You're certain?"

"Yes," Starfire nodded. "I am."

"Thank you," Diana said gladly. "I promise I won't abuse your offer. I will try and give plenty of notice if I cannot make it and need you to take over."

Dick folded his arms. "How do we contact her?" he asked. "Do you have a number I can call?"

"Cassie does have a communicator, but I think it would be best if no one contacted her about it. Her mother doesn't know."

"We'll find a way to communicate," Dick said.

"Perhaps I could find her?" Starfire suggested. "I already patrol the city and I have seen her driving in her car. Maybe I could follow her and when she is alone I could-"

Diana held up her hand, stopping her. "We've been meeting up regularly at the old abandoned car factory outside of town every Friday over her summer break. Tomorrow, I'll introduce you. I cannot stay long though, I have new commitments regarding the new tower in Europe."

"Understood," Dick agreed. "What time?"

"Afternoon, around one-o'clock," Diana told him.

"We'll be there," he said.

"Thank you, I appreciate the help."

"We're technically here in this town because of her and that museum of hers, so we might as well help her," he pointed out. "We'll take care of her."

"She doesn't need taking care of," Diana objected. "She is surprisingly strong, both physically and in willpower. With enough training and discipline, she may one day be my equal."

"That's some praise," Dick commented. "We'll do what we can."

"The real issue is her mother. Without her permission, I cannot take this further, not without alerting the powers that be of what I'm doing. So far not even the others in the league know I've been training her. They only know that I've been having you two watch over her."

"Batman knows you're training her," Dick said.

Diana disagreed. "I don't see how-"

"He knows," he repeated. "I spent almost a decade living with him, I know how he works, how he operates. He likes to know everything and be prepared for every outcome."

"I do know that much about him," Diana conceded. "Well, I must be going, I have a busy day ahead of me."

"Yes," Dick agreed. "Good luck in France."

"I'm still be living on the Watchtower. France is just where I'll be commuting to every day."

He smirked. "A trip via your teleporter isn't exactly what I'd call a commute."

"Perhaps not," she agreed. She stood up and left the room. From the hallway outside they heard her voice. "Watchtower this is Wonder Woman. One to teleport up."

There was a flickering of light which lasted only a few moments.

Dick slowly shook his head in amazement. There were scientists that are still debating whether it's even possible to move a person via teleportation and the Justice League were doing it dozens of times a day without even a thought.

Dick looked back at Starfire who had gone back to staring out of the window. He felt bad for her. Her life for the last few years had been literal torture. She tried to remain positive, but there was a darkness within her that he could relate to.

"How about we go out for dinner tonight?" he suggested suddenly.

She cast her gaze up to her, a small smile flickering at the corner of her mouth. "That would be nice," she said.

He smiled back. He liked making her happy. It made him happy. It was strange to think that they had grown so close in such a short time, but they had. For so long he had been attached to the Robin, then Nightwing reality. He had thought that he could never be happy unless he was out there on the streets, but here with her? Maybe this was what true happiness really felt like and he wouldn't change it for the world.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

 **Dilapidated Car Factory**

 **Gateway City**

 **United States**

 **12:49 – PDT**

 **August 17, 2007**

Suspicious and concerned. Those were the two distinct feelings Cassie Sandsmark had as she slowed down and stopped outside the old abandoned car factory that lay outside of town.

What had caused these feelings was an old vinyl topped car was already parked outside.

Slowly, she got out of her car and made her way up to it. Whoever it belonged to had taken good care of it. The paint shined and the only mar was a rather nasty looking indentation near the rear left wheel arch.

She moved past the car and stepped through the gate, making her way quickly into the abandoned factory.

Whoever that car belonged to, they were inside. If they were up to no good, then she was confident she could take them, especially after the training Wonder Woman had been giving her.

She pushed open the door that led to the factory floor, which looked quite different than when she had first come here. A lot of the heavy machinery had been thrown around, most of it by her, which in all honesty still seemed more than a little surreal to her.

As she stepped further inside, she saw Wonder Woman speaking to a long-haired woman and a man with a tied back ponytail. It was when he turned his head and looked over at her that she recognised him.

A few weeks ago, back when she had been working at a diner, he had come in with his girlfriend. Not even ten minutes after the two had left, the place had been wrecked when Aresia the outcast Amazon had come to kill her. She now knew that he was the former Nightwing and the girl with him had been Starfire, though her skin was tanned Caucasian and not golden orange. Aresia had let on that it was because of some charm or something. Cassie didn't know and she wasn't going to ask either. If they wanted to tell her, they would tell her.

Noticing where he was looking, Diana looked over before calling to her. "Come on over, Cassie."

The teen walked over to them and stood beside Wonder Woman. Diana gestured at the two stood opposite them.

"Because of the opening of the towers, I won't be available as often to train you. I have asked Dick and Kori here to take my place when I'm unavailable. Dick trained under Batman and used to go by Robin then Nightwing. And this is Starfire."

"Hi," Cassie greeted casually.

"Dick may just be a normal human," Diana continued, "but he has a lot of invaluable combat experience and knowledge of various martial arts and disciplines."

The former Nightwing spoke up. "Diana told us you were also looking for a job? A normal civilian job I mean. Is that right?"

Cassie glanced at Wonder Woman. "Well, yeah, I am I guess."

"I run and own the Flying Grayson's Athletics Club here in Gateway. I can offer you a job there?"

"Doing what?" Cassie asked, trying to sound polite.

"It's mostly sitting at the front desk and doing odd jobs here and there, so nothing too strenuous. You will sell energy drinks and bottled water and take cash from people wanting to use the facilities. We don't sell alcohol as it doesn't mix with exercise, so there's no worry about that. Though you might have to deal with people complaining about that fact."

"I can deal," she told him. "And I'll think about it."

"If you want the job then you're hired," Dick told her. "Just come see me sometime in the week."

"Okay," Cassie said, before changing the subject. "So, I'm guessing that's your car outside?" she asked, wanting to be sure it was his car and not someone else they didn't know about.

"Yeah," Dick said. "Did you think you'd got some unwanted visitors?"

"Kinda."

"Are we unwanted?" Starfire asked.

"No, I want you here," Cassie said quickly not wanting to offend them.

Dick turned his attention back to Wonder Woman. "So, we were about to talk about what it is you've already covered in her training?"

"I have taught her how to control her strength and basic defence and offence. No weapons training as of yet. We've also been attempting to find the limit of her strength?"

"Which is?" Dick asked.

"We don't know yet," Diana revealed. "But I wouldn't surprise me if she wasn't far off being as strong as me." Wonder Woman regarded him. "That's not an issue is it?"

"No, I have no issue with the strength aspect," Dick said. "So, do we continue here in this place?" he asked looking around. "Not exactly my first choice."

Diana nodded. "I doubt your club would be sufficient."

"It isn't," Starfire said. "Not for anyone with any real strength. Everything feels like a toy."

Dick folded his arms defensively but otherwise said nothing.

"There's a lot of heavy equipment here that can be lifted," Diana told her. "Not a proper workout, but it should do. I have also been looking into calling some favours and getting some proper equipment brought down here from the Watchtower but that is some way off as of now."

"There are some empty rooms at my club that could be converted," Dick said. "Starfire's been looking for better equipment too. We were hoping you could help."

"I might," Diana said. "And moving the equipment to empty rooms at your place sounds better than bringing it here where anyone might find it."

"I hope you are able," Starfire said. Then she added, "I was wondering, at the times you are available, can I come and join in with the training? I know I still have a lot to learn."

Diana nodded. "If you want to be part of our sessions, then I can accommodate you."

"Yes, that is perfect," she said. "Is it the same time every week?"

"Yes, it is," Wonder Woman confirmed. "Though that might change depending on my schedule. With luck, I won't miss out on many sessions at all. Again, if you want to be part of it then you are welcome. It would actually be more beneficial to Cassie's training if you did."

"Then it is settled," Starfire said.

Dick looked to Starfire. "Do you want to start today?" he asked her.

Diana answered quickly. "Actually today isn't a good day to start. It's just going to be a recap of what's been learnt. But next Friday, if I'm available, will be fine. If not, then I'll let you know and you both can come here to continue. I am hoping to be able to also get a lesson plan set up that you can follow."

"And how will you contact us?" Dick asked.

"I will get you a communicator."

"That sounds good," Dick agreed. "And before we go, I want to tell Cassie that you can drop by the club anytime you want."

Cassie smiled. "Thanks."

"We'll see you later then," Dick said.

"Goodbye," Kori waved.

"Yeah, bye," Cassie said.

"I'll be in touch," Diana told them.

Cassie watched as Dick and Kori moved off, before turning to face Wonder Woman. "So, what are we doing today?"

Diana answered. "Today is going to be a little shorter than usual. I'm going to go over what I've taught you so far and see if it has stuck."

* * *

 **Redwood Forest**

 **Outside San Francisco**

 **United States**

 **13:58 – PDT**

This was her life now, Huntress had to accept that.

Sat in this car, being bored half to death seemed to be something that occurred far more these days than she felt that she could tolerate. Right now they were parked up in the middle of nowhere, while the Question sat on the front of the car with a pair of binoculars looking up towards the sky.

Finally, as the clock changed to two in the afternoon, she'd had enough.

She pushed the door open and climbed out, walking to the front of the old Pontiac and glared at him.

"We're wasting our time," Huntress told him. "She's not going to just fly over."

"Shhh," Question hushed her without so much as lowering his binoculars.

"Don't you start shushing me," she said unimpressed.

"Just as I suspected," Question said.

"What?" Huntress asked looking up at the sky to find nothing.

"She's here. There are a few holiday homes here in this forest, so that means they'll be staying at one." He lowered the binoculars and turned his blank Psuedoderm masked face towards her. "My guess is the holiday home owned by Delina Gibson."

"Who? Should I know who that is, because it's not a name that rings any bells," Huntress said still trying to find what Question had seen in the sky. "Have you been keeping things from me?" she asked looking over at him, before realising that it was a stupid question. Of course, he kept things from her, he always did.

He climbed off the front of the car and made his way to the driver's side door. Huntress stepped over to the passenger door and they both climbed in.

"Since you've found her, does this mean we're reporting in to the league?"

"Not yet."

"Why not?"

"I need more information."

"Why? You know where she is, so what more information could you possibly need?"

He started the car and accelerated hard.

"I'm waiting?" Huntress said. "Why do you need more information?"

"The Justice League is quick to judge," Question said. "I need information on her current behaviour and her actions. I need an up-to-date psyche built up before I report what I've found."

"How are you gonna build anything on her psyche with just a pair of binoculars?" Huntress questioned.

He didn't answer.

Huntress sat back in her chair and folded her arms in frustration. She loved him, but that didn't mean she didn't want to murder him sometimes. Well, more than sometimes, it was actually quite often.

Whatever it was he was intending to do, he would do it without her help. It wasn't that she didn't want to give him a hand, it was that he never asked and rarely ever accepted it when she offered. Sometimes she felt like she was just another curiosity to him, but she knew he loved her too. His was just a strange sort of love.

The two of them drove back into the small town nearby where they had been staying at a motel. It wasn't glamorous, but then again life wasn't glamorous either, not when you peeled back the lairs and discovered the rotting maggots underneath.

* * *

 **Redwood Forest**

 **Outside San Francisco**

 **United States**

 **14:08 - PDT**

Galatea descended and landed on the upper platform of the lookout tower and pushed the door open, finding Clara, the hired forestry commission lookout officer inside.

"Hello, Karen," Clara greeted with a smile.

Galatea had given them a fake name, Karen. They had come to know of her abilities by accident when she was putting out a fire that had started to brew because some campers had left their campfire smouldering when they had left.

They had been amazed and somewhat disconcerted, but that had been temporary. Over the months she had gained their trust and their friendship. Which was why she didn't want to have to leave even though she knew that inevitably, she would. Perhaps not in the near future, but eventually they would be leaving this place behind and most likely heading to Europe where some of Hamilton's old colleagues now lived.

"Taking another afternoon flight?" Clara asked her.

"Yeah, just checking for fires."

"You know we have monitoring equipment that does that, right?" Clara pointed out.

Galatea shrugged. "I know but it keeps me busy. I'm heading home in a minute, so dad doesn't get worried."

Clara gave her an enquiring look. "You've mentioned him a few times before. He seems unusually overprotective." She grimaced slightly. "I have to ask, is he, you know, bad to you?"

"What?" Galatea asked confused. "That makes you think that?"

"It's just that you look twenty-five, maybe thirty, yet it seems he treats you like a kid? From what you've said, it seems you have a curfew."

"It's complicated," she told the woman. "It's more that he's afraid people will find out where we are. We're kinda on the run."

"You've alluded to that before," Clara commented. "Did you do something bad?"

"I was a tool for the government," she said, leaning against a waist-high cabinet. She decided not to go into the part where she was a clone that had been made solely for the purpose of being a government tool.

"Did you arrive like Superman did?"

"No," she said. "And let's leave it at that."

"And what about your dad, Karen? Like I said, he seems to treat you like you're a kid."

"He's the reason I'm free," Galatea told her. "I didn't have much of a childhood. Actually, I didn't have one at all. And before you ask, no, he's not my biological father. That's probably obvious, though."

"Who is?"

"I don't know," Galatea said and that was the truth. Technically she didn't have one. Biologically, it was whoever Kara's father was. "Emil's my dad in my eyes. He's overprotective because he's worried we'll be discovered, that's why he acts the way he does. At first, it really annoyed me, but he's kinda right. If you had reported me, we'd have been forced to flee again."

"What did the government use you for?"

"Assassination, Espionage-" She instantly regretted saying it as soon as the words left her mouth, but it just rolled out before she could stop it.

Clara shifted in her seat, causing it to creak. It was obvious she was unsettled by the answer. "You've killed people?" she asked, her voice cracking.

Galatea let out a sigh as she turned and stared out of the window. "Yes."

There was an excruciatingly long pause before the next question came. "How many?"

"Does it matter?" she asked right back, staring at the redwoods outside.

"Did they deserve it?"

"Some of them," Galatea answered. "Most didn't. They just knew something Cadmus didn't want them to know. For the ones giving the orders, that was enough."

"You didn't refuse?"

Galatea turned away from the window to face her. "I should be going. See you later."

"Karen," Clara called after her, but Tea ignored it as she stepped outside and flew off into the sky.

She was angry at herself. Why had she told Clara that she was a killer? That was a good way to lose her as a friend.

Galatea landed in front of the summer home and entered through the front door. She found Emil and Pauline sitting in the living room with a drink of coffee.

She knew he didn't like her going out. He was worried she would be seen. He didn't know that she had become acquainted with the fire watch guys and she intended to keep it that way.

They didn't really talk much anymore about her 'hikes'. It had been a nightmare just letting her out of the house. If Emil knew she was flying he would have a seizure. As far as he knew, she was walking the forest, not flying over it.

She reached for the remote and turned on the television and got herself comfortable. After what she had accidentally revealed to Clara, she needed a good diversion.

* * *

 ** **Project Ultima (Offshoot of the former Project Cadmus)****

 ** **Somewhere in New Mexico, United States****

 ** **15:40 – Mountain Daylight Time****

Colonel Rick Flag Jr stood outside the briefing room, laptop tucked under his left arm ready to enter the room.

There was something stopping him though. Nothing physical, more emotional.

He hated them, hated having to use them, hated having to be in the same room as them. But when there was no other option, they sent in Task Force X.

The first issue he had with them was that they were criminals, which meant they were only doing this to reduce their sentence. The second was that as criminals if they saw the chance to escape, they would take it. Fortunately, there were safeguards, such as the implant in the back of their necks which would kill them if they tried to escape or betray them.

The third problem was that the line-up was constantly in flux. This meant that numbers he had to work with and who he had to work with changed often. There had been times when he had ended up with a team that was completely unbalanced. Looking at the line-up, he wasn't particularly impressed by them individually, but together they might be able to pull it off.

He straightened his uniform and fixed his tie before he stepped into the room. He looked at the four sat at the table. Each of them was handcuffed to their chairs and all of them were either stripped of their equipment or had power inhibitors.

The first he laid eyes on was Arthur Light or the first Doctor Light and unlike the current person who held the title, he was a criminal, not a hero. He had been in prison for just over ten years and was expected to stay there for the rest of his life. He was responsible for the deaths of multiple people and had a callous disregard for human life. The guy was a scumbag and a coward, but then again everyone on the team was a scumbag and a coward when it came down to it.

The second he looked at was Lucius Funk. The guy was built like a wall and could easily punch through them. He had been incarcerated for multiple counts of robbery and assault. The guy didn't use weapons as he didn't need them. He was a metahuman and he liked to flaunt that fact especially when it put innocent people in danger.

The third was Werner Vertigo or Count Vertigo. Flag didn't know much about him apart from he had once worked with the Society of Shadows. He was also apparently of some royal blood in some unimportant foreign county, but Flag honestly didn't care about any of that.

The fourth and final was Garfield Lynns aka Firefly. The pyromaniac was a nuisance. A deadly nuisance. He was also the most useless for the task ahead. Flag doubted there would be much he could even do apart from make a fancy light show. Still, with the plan he had developed, he had some use for him.

Flag put the laptop down on the desk and opened it up. After logging in, he attached some cables to an overhead projector.

He was about to begin when the door opened and Hugo Strange stepped in, annoying the colonel.

"What do you want?" Flag barked.

"May I speak with you for a moment?"

"About?"

"Our little project."

"Project?"

"The girl."

"Which one?"

"You know which one. The one I'm currently in charge of."

"The alien?" Flag Asked. Strange nodded. "Can't this wait?"

"No," Strange said insistently. "This has to be now."

Flag growled under his breath. "Fine." The two of them stepped out into the hallway and Flag pulled the door closed behind him. "Talk."

"I want her to join this mission."

"No," Flag said. "And it's an "it" not a she or a her."

"She is female," Strange said with a raised brow. "So yes, she is a she not an it."

"It's an Imperium parasite. One of those creatures that tried to take over the planet."

"A White Martian," Hugo corrected once more. "She is ready. The conditioning is stable and she is willing. This would be a good test."

"This would be a bad test," Flag countered. "What exactly are its abilities?"

"Her abilities are primarily shape-shifting, however since her separation from the Imperium she has developed some psychic abilities."

"What about being able to move through objects like the league's Martian?"

"No indication that she can," Strange informed him. "We believe that her genome is almost back to what it was before the Imperium enslaved her species and turned them into drones."

"I ask again and give me a firm answer this time. Can she phase?"

"And again, we have no indication that she can," Strange answered.

"Good, because if it's part of the team, it gets an implant like the rest of them."

"What does that have to do with phasing?" Strange questioned.

"We don't know if we can put an implant in someone who can phase through objects like that Green Martian can."

"So that's a yes then? She can go on the mission?" Strange asked. "And to add, she already has an implant so that isn't an issue."

"It's a no," Flag said. "Besides, it isn't here."

"Actually she is," Strange revealed. "I had her moved three days ago."

Flag snarled at him. "Why wasn't I informed of this?"

"It was my decision," Strange said. "And I don't need your permission to move her."

"Actually, you do," Flag countered. "But clearly you do what you want."

"Since she is already here, will you add her to your team?" Strange asked hopefully.

"I should stay firm and refuse," Flag muttered. He then spoke up, "It has an implant, correct?"

"Yes, the explosive implant is firmly in her skull."

"And its shape-shifting doesn't affect the device?"

"No, it's attached directly to the base of her brain."

"But can't it change the structure of its brain when it morphs?"

"You're thinking too much into it. The device remains attached, we've checked. You're worrying too much."

"Of course I am," Flag argued. "The reports from you and those I got from Danvers suggest that the thing is more powerful now than it ever was when it was part of the Imperium. It's dangerous and if it were up to me I'd have the thing destroyed."

"To destroy her would be a great loss and could potentially cause problems. Just like with Galatea."

"Just shut up and bring the thing here before I change my mind."

Strange looked down the hallway and shouted, "Bring her, the Colonel said yes."

"Just be aware," Flag said pointing threateningly to the shorter bespectacled bald man. "If she is the reason that this mission ends in failure, then I will have your head. Understand?"

"Do what you want," Strange said, not feeling at all threatened.

Flag looked down the hall as two armed guards brought what at first glance looked like a human female, except she was green with red hair.

The colonel pointed at the door. "Take her in there." The guards complied, while Flag stood tall over the much shorter man.

"You don't scare me," Strange said, as he turned and walked off.

Flag growled wanting so much to shoot him in the back. But that wasn't the kind of man he was. He preferred to shoot his enemies from the front.

Deciding to not let the man get under his skin, Flag stepped back into the room decided it was time to begin, only to be stopped by Lucius Funk.

"Who's the green chick?" he said in his deep gravelled voice.

"A team member," Flag said. "Now shut-up so I can start."

He moved the mouse and brought up a picture of a blonde woman in a white leotard.

Funk whistled. "That's a purdy lady," he commented.

"That is your target," Flag said. "And I'm not looking for capture, I'm looking for a kill."

"Simple enough," Vertigo said. "She doesn't look very tough."

Flag smirked. They had no idea. "She's a clone of an Argoan, so she has all their abilities."

"Argoan?" Firefly asked. "What the hell is an Argoan?"

"Argo is a planet and is, or rather was a sister world to Krypton. Your target is a clone of Supergirl."

"Woah!" Firefly said leaning forward, eyes wide. "You want us to kill a Kryptonian? Is that even possible?"

"Not only is it possible, but you four-" he looked at the so-called White Martian, "-five," he corrected, "are going to be the ones to do it."

"Interesting," Vertigo commented. "And how exactly will we accomplish this feat?"

"You knock her out of the sky by disorientation. We also have Light's old suit, which has been modified to emit a close approximation to Kryptonite radiation. Hit her with that and she'll be weakened."

Light smiled but otherwise said nothing.

"What about me?" Funk asked. "Whatta I do?"

"You overpower her in her weakened state."

"And me?" Firefly said.

"You and the parasite are only there as a diversion," Flag informed them. "You will set fires to draw any attention away from the target area."

"Parasite's coming along?" Firefly questioned. "I thought he was dead? Darkseid and all that."

Flag glared. "I'm talking about that," he said, pointing at the green girl.

The others looked at her. She kept her eyes on Flag, no indication that she was affected whatsoever by the man's callous comments.

"Now your target," Flag continued, "is in the redwood forests outside of San Francisco. You will be updated on the actual location once you arrive in the area." Flag switched off the projector. "One more thing. Her name is Galatea."

Vertigo spoke up. "And why are we after her?"

"None of your concern," the colonel said. "Only know that this mission must result in her termination, do I make myself clear?"

They nodded and Funk murmured a "Yes."

Flag wasn't impressed. "I asked if I made myself clear?"

"Yes, sir," They said, all except the Martian, who remained silent, staring.

Flag looked at her wondering if she was even fully conscious. Right now she looked almost like a zombie. He addressed her directly to see if it was even possible to get a response or if Strange had dealt him a dud. "I'm asking you whether I made myself clear?"

"Yes, you made yourself clear, sir," she responded.

"She speaks," Vertigo commented.

"Shut it!" Flag said. "You leave tomorrow and will get a full briefing when you're on the ground."

"Why are we not getting a full briefing now?" Vertigo asked.

Flag glared. "Because you're getting it when you're on the ground." He straightened his tie. "Now that's all. Some guards will by soon to take you back to your cells."

Flag promptly stepped out of the room with a sneer of disgust on his face. They were all the worst of humanity or at least the ones that were human were. If the Imperium Parasite did anything to jeopardise the mission, then there would be hell to pay and he would make sure that Hugo Strange ended up where he belonged. Which was in a cell with all the other scum.

He himself still wasn't entirely satisfied with the evidence they had gathered about them once being White Martians and since she was the last one, it didn't really matter. He had petitioned to have it destroyed but had been overruled. They didn't need aliens, or clones of aliens to do the job. Hell, he honestly didn't think they needed criminals to do it either, but this was the roll of the dice he had been given.

If they were successful tomorrow, then a loose end would be tied up and they would have gotten rid of their embarrassing failure that was the Supergirl clone. If they were lucky, Emil Hamilton and his Justice League doctor girlfriend would be taken out as well.

He could only hope. But experience had told him to never underestimate how wrong a mission could go.


	8. Chapter 8

****Chapter Eight****

 ** **Watchtower II****

 ** **Earth Orbit****

 ** **18:58 – Station Time****

 ** **August 17, 2007****

He should have realised something was wrong as soon as he entered the room. He should have noticed the guilty look etched on their faces. He should have picked up on the fact that both Kyle and Hirunan had barely said a word since he began talking and had also barely made eye contact.

All the clues had been there staring him in the face and somehow he had not managed to pick up on them. At least not until it was so obvious that he would have to be blind not to see it.

This was not good news. It was not good news at all. It was the worst news they could have possibly told him and put a wrench in their plans.

John Stewart had scheduled a meeting with both the new resident Green Lanterns to discuss the search for a new ring bearer. Both of them had been quiet for nearly ten whole minutes until he had started to figure out something was amiss.

The truth wasn't what John had wanted to hear. Not what he wanted to hear at all.

"How did you lose it?" John demanded, folding his arms, a deep frown creasing his brow.

Kyle laughed nervously. "Well, ya know how those rings have a mind of their own. They'll wander off at the tip of a hat."

John was not amused. "You were supposed to keep a hold of it."

"I was keeping hold of it," Kyle defended.

"Not hard enough, clearly," John said angrily. "But if we act fast enough, we might be able to get it back. It has to still be on the station. It can't have gotten far." John raised his ring up and projected a green blueprint of the station. "We would have detected a hull breach if it had decided to make a new exit and leave."

John began a scan while the other two remained stood there. After a minute, John began to grow more agitated. "I'm not picking up its signal anywhere. At least not on the station, which means either it's being masked somehow or it's not here."

Hirunan shrugged. "I don't see what the deal is. This makes our job easier. Let the ring make the choice."

The projection phased out as John lowered his hand. "When was the last time you knew for sure you had it?" he asked, ignoring her.

"This morning before I showed Hiru what the Earth looked like from the moon. I didn't notice it was gone until we were on our way here to see you."

John audibly slapped his hand against his forehead. "Then it could literally be anywhere."

Hirunan corrected him. "Anywhere on Earth."

"We hope," John said. "We might have just lost the damned thing."

"I don't see the issue to be honest," Kyle said, echoing Hirunan's earlier sentiment. "Let it choose. My ring picked me, didn't it?"

"I rest my case," John said dryly.

"Hey," Kyle objected to the intended insult. "I'm good at what I do."

"I want it found and you two are going to find it," John said pointing towards the door. "If it has picked someone, bring them here to the Watchtower. I want a full background check on them to make sure it hasn't picked a psycho, understand?"

"Understood," Hirunan accepted.

Kyle nodded. "Sure." He then lifted his ring and concentrated. He didn't even breathe as he tried to track the missing ring. After a few moments, a green image of Earth appeared. There was a blip over North America. "Found it," Kyle said, releasing his breath. "See, we haven't lost it."

John folded his arms, still unimpressed. "Then the two of you better go and retrieve it then, hadn't you."

John watched as they both left the room. As soon as the doors had slid shut he rubbed his face with the palms of his hands.

Honestly, he didn't trust the ring to pick the right candidate. Sure, it could find someone with indomitable willpower, but would it find someone who was the right fit?

At this point, all he could do was hope and John didn't tend to put much faith in hope.

* * *

 ** **Somewhere in Ontario****

 ** **Canada****

 ** **20:02 – EDT****

The television was on, but Zari Tarin barely paid attention to it. Her thoughts were on her last escape attempt and how and why it had failed.

It was because she hadn't been fast enough. She had become disoriented and had not known which direction to fly in. This had cost her and the next time she would not make that same idiotic mistake.

Over the last day or so she had found herself sat there watching the highlights of the opening of the Justice League towers across the globe.

Her interest wasn't in the towers though, they meant nothing to her. No, what interested her wasn't some buildings but a person and that person was called Shayera Hol.

She was another Thanagarian here on Earth and she wasn't locked up. She was free, people trusted her, well they kind of did. She had watched enough to know that people didn't trust her because of her role during the Thanagarian invasion. But they didn't outright shun her, at least most people didn't.

Hawkgirl, or rather Shayera as she was also known, had become something of an obsession for Zari. Every piece of news she saw on her, she would sit and watch it all the way through. Unfortunately, it never gave her any real insight into the woman.

Zari's viewing was interrupted as she heard the locks on her door being opened. A moment later the television's screen went black as it switched off.

Addison Payne stood there with two guards at his sides. They held guns, though they were pointed down towards the floor in a non-threatening manner.

"Good evening, Zari," Addison said with a fake smile. "I feel we've had you locked up in there a little too much recently. Come on, let's go for a little walk."

That made little sense. They had pretty much had her locked up constantly since she got here. The only times she had left was when her room was cleaned or Addison wanted to try and get to know her better.

Her small room had everything she needed. A small bathroom area, complete with toilet, sink and shower, a small table she ate at by her bed and a television. But what her room didn't have was what she craved. Freedom and enough room to spread her wings and fly.

But there was one commonality whenever she left it. Knowing this, Zari put her wrists together and held them out ready to be cuffed.

"Not today," he said.

That confused her. She had never been out of her room without them. Something felt off. It felt wrong.

Zari lowered her hands and stepped out into the corridor outside. "Where are we going?" she asked him.

"I thought you could stretch your legs a bit."

"And my wings?" she asked, despite already knowing what the answer would be.

He didn't disappoint. "Sorry, but no. We're not at that level of trust yet. Especially with your recent attempt at escape."

"When will we be?"

"When you accept that we want to help you. We can offer you a place in this world, one where you don't have to worry about food or shelter."

"Haven't I got food and shelter now?"

"Yes, but you don't have the freedom of movement," Addison explained. "I know you hate being stuck in here, but if we let you go out to stretch your wings and go on a flight, we both know you'll fly away and try to escape. Then you'll probably end up getting killed."

"I know how to survive. I did it for three years."

Addison began to look frustrated. "We're offering security."

"You're offering it for a price," she retorted. "And so far you haven't told me what that price is apart from imprisonment and control."

"With time and with trust, we will."

"You'll be waiting a long time," she told him firmly. "I have no interest in being your pawn."

"You won't be a pawn, you'll be an agent, a force for good."

"Then send me to the Justice League."

He looked at her with annoyance, which she interpreted as them only wanting her as a force for good in their own country, not for anyone else. He had let slip that he wanted her as an agent. What kind of agent? One that killed their enemies, or one that sought to steal enemy secrets?

From what she had learnt from perusing television, Canada didn't really have any enemies, at least not what she would consider enemies. There was distrust for certain nations, but none of the major nations was really at war right now. None that she knew about at least.

The four of them, the two guards included, stepped into a larger room that appeared to be some kind of medical area. This caused her some concern, especially the large metal chair which a man in a white coat, who she assumed was a doctor, was stood beside.

"What's going on?" she questioned disconcerted by the sight.

"Just going to do some tests on your health," Addison told her. He gestured to the metal chair with large armrests. "Now, if you'll sit down."

Zari remained stood where she was and continued to eye the chair. It didn't look like something she wanted to sit in. For one thing, it looked like it would be uncomfortable for her wings as they didn't have anywhere to go.

Addison continued to try and coax her into sitting down. "You said you wanted to be able to fly again, to feel the wind across your face, correct?"

She looked at him. "Yes," she said quietly.

"This show of trust will take you one step closer to getting what you want."

That was a lie. Or rather she believed it was. Unfortunately, she knew that if she wanted any chance of escaping this place, she had to get them to trust her, even if that meant doing things she didn't want to do.

Addison urged her forwards, placing his hand against her left wing, gently pushing her forward. "Go on, take a seat."

Slowly, Zari approached the chair and sat down in it. Her wings pressed up against the back of the chair uncomfortably and the armrests were cold and hard.

"That's it, Zari," Addison said. "Just relax."

"That's not easy to do when this chair's so hard."

"Don't worry, you'll be out of it before you know it."

The doctor pressed a button on the back of the chair and large restraints came out, covering her arms and her legs, locking her in place.

Immediately, Zari began to struggle, trying to break free of the restraints.

"It's for your own good," Addison told her in a calm voice. "This next part will hurt a little, so be prepared."

She began to struggle even more as the lab coat man stood in front of her with a dangerous looking device. It had a handle and a trigger and a strange looking object protruding out of the front.

"What are you doing?" she demanded.

Addison put his hand on her shoulder in a futile attempt to comfort her.

"What is that!"

"We're going to be putting a tracker under your skin," Addison explained. "But we know you'll try and remove it, so we're putting it in deep."

She writhed in the chair. "You can't do this."

The doctor placed the device on her right shoulder on the pectoral muscle and pulled the trigger. There was a stinging sensation before her flesh began to grow numb.

"Don't worry, you won't feel us implant it," he said softly. "We're numbing the area first, otherwise it would be really painful, okay?"

Zari wasn't going to let them do this to her. She had allowed herself to be kept prisoner here for too long. She could let them start implanting her with their technology, she wasn't going to allow it.

She pulled on the restraints with every ounce of strength she had. She just hoped her muscles hadn't atrophied too much during her incarceration here.

Slowly, the metal began to bend, before her right hand broke free. She slapped the device away from her and it smashed against the wall.

Immediately the two guards had pulled both the doctor and Addison to the side and had their guns pointed right in her face.

"Don't shoot her," Addison cried out. "She's just frightened." He moved back over to her, his face one of deep concern. Whether his concern for her well-being was real or fake, Zari had never been able to figure out.

"I've tried doing what's best for you, Zari," he told her. "They wanted to stick a tracker in you from the start, but I told them no. I wanted to earn your trust." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "But they want results. This is taking too long. If you don't cooperate, they'll take you elsewhere and they won't be nearly as nice or patient with you."

"You're not sticking anything in me!" she shouted. "I won't let you!"

"I didn't want to have to sedate you for this, but I will if you force me to," he threatened. "You thought we'd ever let you leave this building without a way to track you? Don't be stupid, Zari."

"I'm not stupid," she said as she began to pull at her leg restraints.

"Stop, or we'll have to knock you out," Addison warned. "It's only a tracking device."

"How do I know that?" she questioned. "I won't let you start putting your primitive technology into me."

"You don't have a choice." Addison got the two guards to hold her free arm down while the doctor approached with a needle.

She began to squirm again, the guards struggling to hold her arm in place.

That's when there was the sound of glass shattering. Both guards let her go and had their rifle, pointing towards the door in less than two seconds.

Both the doctor and Addison slowly approached it, cautious as to what exactly had caused the glass to shatter. Addison squatted and took a closer look at the sharp debris that was scattered along the floor.

"What did this?" he muttered.

"I don't know," the white-coated man said in surprise.

What they didn't know, a winged Thanagarian did. She could see the culprit moving slowly towards her as though it had a purpose.

A small green ring.

A near overwhelming urge to reach out for it consumed her. She didn't feel fear, rather she felt a peculiar feeling of wonder, of hope.

The ring moved to her stretched out finger and touched the nail, causing a strange feeling of electricity to shoot up her arm. It wasn't painful, instead, it felt invigorating.

As the ring slid itself fully onto her finger of her right hand, she felt a strange energy wash over her. It wasn't like anything she had felt before, as though the ring itself touched every part of her soul.

One of the guards looked back around and instantly raised his gun, pointing it right at her. "Guys," he said nervously. "Why does she suddenly look like the Green Lantern?"

Zari looked down at herself. Sure enough, she was now wearing green and at a symbol on her chest. One that matched the one she had seen Green Lantern wear on television.

Her moment of feeling surprise was short lived as her attention was quickly drawn to the guards who were now pointing their weapons right at her, their faces both one of fear.

"Where did you get that ring?" Addison demanded.

"It found me," she said as she began to try and free her other hand from the restraints.

"Stop," he commanded, taking a step towards her.

She pointed the ring towards them and the guards opened fire. Much to her surprise, a shield formed in front of her, stopping the bullets dead in their tracks.

"Stop shooting!" Addison screamed out. The guards released their triggers but kept their guns locked on the Thanagarian girl behind the green translucent wall.

Finally, Zari freed her other arm, then tore open her left leg restraint, then her right.

"Zari, just take off the ring," Addison pleaded. "You don't know what you're doing."

"I do know what I'm doing," she said as she stood up and looked down at the ring. It was strange, she was starting to gain basic knowledge on how it worked. It was as though the ring itself were teaching her.

She held up the ring again and began to push the green energy wall forwards. The four of them began to back out of the room, where they found several more guards who had heard the shouting and gunfire.

"I'm leaving," she told them.

"Don't be stupid, you have nowhere to go," Addison said.

"I have this ring. I can go anywhere I want." With that she formed a winged Thanagarian helmet over her head and projected a beam towards the back wall, blowing it out. She ran through, then blew a hole in another wall causing light from the late evening sun to stream in.

Without even looking back she flew through it, out into the open, out into what she hoped was freedom at last.

That's when the gunfire began.

Zari erected a shield around her, then flew upwards into the sky without so much as a single flap of her wings. She let the ring do the work as she shot off heading eastwards, leaving the facility far behind.

For the first time in months, she was finally free and it was glorious.


	9. Chapter 9

****Chapter N**** ** **i**** ** **ne****

 ** **Over The Atlantic Ocean****

 ** **20:39 – EDT****

 ** **August 1**** ** **7**** ** **, 2007****

Zari didn't have a destination in mind. She knew she wanted to find the Justice League and not because she had any interest in joining them, but because she needed to find Shayera Hol, the only other Thanagarian she had seen since arriving on this planet.

The main problem was that she didn't know where Shayera was, apart from in a country on the continent of Africa in a tall Justice League tower. She didn't know where Africa was and didn't know enough about the ring she had acquired to see if it could find the tower for her.

Right now she wasn't even using the ring. She was using her own wings to fly, though they were starting to ache due to inactivity over the last few months.

She was still wearing the strange Lantern uniform which included the Thanagarian-styled helmet, but in green and from what she could see, her wings also appeared to be covered in green too, as though the uniform had extended across her whole body.

It was a little creepy. She wasn't sure how to take it off yet, which could prove problematic when the inevitable bathroom break came around. She would have to wait until she had landed to figure that out, though judging by the endless ocean around her, it could be sometime before she found a place to set herself down.

A glow in the evening sky caught her attention. She slowed to a hover and looked upward to see that whatever it was, was headed in her direction and was giving off a distinct green aura.

A few moments later, she saw that it wasn't a single object but two and from what she could see, they were Green Lanterns.

Her first thought was that they were going to accuse her of stealing the ring. She herself wasn't sure how she even got the thing. It kind of just appeared out of nowhere and put itself on.

Her second thought was would they take it from her? Right now she didn't really know how to work the ring. It seemed to take her thoughts and make them a reality, but she had to concentrate in order for it to work right.

The two Lanterns, a male and a female, slowed as they came within fifty meters of her. She held out her hand and a green axe formed in her grip. If they intended to try and fight her, then she would fight back. She had spent far too long already being subservient. She was a Thanagarian and she relished her freedom. She wouldn't be taken and locked away, not when she was so close to freedom.

"Stay back!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.

The male shouted back. "We're not here to fight."

"Don't get any closer," Zari warned, raising her axe construct up.

The two slowed to a stop and the light-purple skinned woman spoke. "We're not going to hurt you."

"Just stay where you are." Zari knew that she only had limited time to think of a way out of this. She couldn't attack because there were not only two of them, but they were trained in how to use the ring. She barely knew how to operate hers.

The man held up his ring finger. "It chose you, didn't it?" he asked. "My ring chose me, too. I know it can be a bit scary and also really awesome, I felt the same way."

"You don't know anything," Zari shouted at him.

"You can trust us," the woman said. "My name is Hirunan, what's yours?"

"Why should I tell you?"

The man spoke next. "Because we'd like to know. My name's Kyle."

"Zari," she said. "Zari Tarin."

"You're not human," Kyle said. "What world do you come from?"

"Doesn't matter," she said.

"Are you Thanagarian?" Kyle asked.

"So what if I am?" Zari questioned. She had noticed that the two of them were slowly creeping towards her. If they got much closer than she would have to defend herself.

"Why are you here?" he asked her.

"None of your business," she said. "And I told you to not come any closer!"

The two of them stopped immediately.

Zari continued. "I want to speak with Shayera Hol."

The two of them glanced at each other. It was clear to her that they were familiar with the name.

"Why do you want to speak with her?" Kyle asked.

Zari wasn't sure he could be that dense. "Why do you think?" she questioned. She wanted to see her because she was the only other Thanagarian here on Earth.

The two Lanterns looked at each other and Zari heard Kyle speak to Hirnunan. "I'm calling John."

"I'll try and keep her calm," Hirunan responded, their voices barely audible from where they hovered.

Zari didn't intend on attacking them or fleeing anytime soon. Not unless they forced her to. She would wait for them to make their call. She would wait for as long as it took to meet up with this Shayera Hol. She had a lot of questions about what exactly happened here regarding Earth and her people and she needed answers.

* * *

 ** **Watchtower II****

 ** **Earth Orbit****

 ** **20:44 – Station Time****

Shayera didn't know why John Stewart wanted to talk to her. It sounded urgent, which was the only reason she was awake. The Lagos Justice League Tower in Africa was a few hours ahead. In fact, it was now the eighteenth down there.

Shayera opened up the conversation with more than a hint of annoyance. "What's so important?"

"Kyle lost the Lantern ring."

"So? Not my problem. Get him to find it," she said.

"They've found it already, both him and Hirunan. It's who the ring found and decided to attach itself to that has me concerned."

"Killer Frost? Ira Quimby? Amanda Waller?" Shayera asked, throwing off a few names.

"No, A Zari Tarin."

Shayera shrugged. "If I'm supposed to know who that is, then sorry, because I don't have a clue. Never heard the name before."

"She's Thanagarian, Shay and she's asking for you by name."

Now that wasn't something she had ever expected him to say. More importantly why was a Thanagarian here in the first place?

John continued. "I think it might be a trap."

"Possibly," Shayera agreed. "But if she's asking for me, then I might as well oblige."

"It could be dangerous."

"With me, you and the two other Green Lanterns, I don't think I'll have much to worry about. Besides, I have this new armour remember?" she said, gesturing down to her gold and red coloured attire.

John nodded, knowing he couldn't forget that fact. Not after how much it looked like their son's armour from the future. John had to admit that Shayera looked powerful and dangerous in it.

Those were the traits that had drawn him to her in the first place. Ever since she had come back to the league there had been something missing. Like the fire deep within her had gone out. Now, he could see that it was still there, just subdued.

"Something bothering you?" Shayera asked him.

"Hmm?" he responded absent-mindedly.

"You're staring."

"Sorry. We should probably go see what this Thanagarian wants with you."

"Then let's stop standing around and go find out," she said turning for the door.

* * *

 ** **Over The Atlantic Ocean****

 ** **21:04 – EDT****

This was it. Unless it was a trap, which there was a good chance that it was, then Shayera was coming. Zari would finally meet the other Thanagarian after seeing her on the television for the last few months.

She had so many questions to ask her, so much she wanted to know. She knew that Shayera had back-stabbed the Justice League during the invasion where her people had taken control of the planet and then she had sought to save this planet from certain destruction at the hands of the Thanagarians.

Finding out the truth about her people had been tough. Her father had been glad that they had failed and she had to agree. Her people trying to destroy this planet and all of the life that lived on it was horrible.

The question was, had Shayera betrayed their people, or had she saved them from doing something that would taint them forever?

Zari saw them in the distance, two of them, one with wings. She felt excitement begin to bubble deep inside her. There was another one of her kind here on this world, someone who was seen by a lot of people as a hero and she was about to meet her.

But there was the nagging in the back of her mind that her father was probably dead and it was Shayera's fault. But again was her father's life worth that of an entire world? There was, of course, the likelihood that he would have died anyway in the final battle anyway, even if they had accomplished their mission here.

Shayera and the Green Lantern she had seen on the television slowed to a stop beside the two other lanterns that had identified themselves earlier as Kyle and Hirunan.

The axe construct she had been holding faded away, as did the winged helmet that had been formed by the ring, exposing her face.

No one said anything for several seconds. When they did, it was Shayera. "Why are you here on Earth?" she asked.

For a moment, Zari was at a loss for words, unsure what to tell her. She decided to go with the truth. "My father left me here."

"Why?"

"Because he thought it was safer."

"Safer than what?"

"Safer than going with him and the fleet to face the Gordanians."

Shayera looked at the dark-skinned Green Lantern before asking her next question. "How long have you been here?"

"A few years. Since our people left this world after the invasion. I was captured and held by the Canadians a few months ago and was able to escape using this ring."

"How did you get the ring?" the Green Lantern asked.

"I didn't, it found me."

Kyle gestured at her with an open hand. "It picked her, so I guess we found our new recruit," he said.

The Green Lantern that hovered next to Shayera wasn't nearly as certain. "Not so fast."

"John," Shayera began, "let's get her up to the Watchtower. We can discuss this there."

"We don't know why she's here," John pointed out.

"She literally just told us," Shayera said.

"If she's telling the truth," John said. "We both know how good your people can be at lying."

There was a sudden uneasy silence as John realised what he had just said. He was more thinking of how her people had come to this world promising to build a shield as a defence against the Gordanians. Instead, they had lied and it was a hyperspace bypass generator that would have destroyed the Earth.

At the moment he had said it, Shayera's own betrayal had actually slipped his mind.

"Smooth," Hirunan mumbled sarcastically as both she and Kyle visibly cringed.

John tried to quickly backtrack. "I didn't mean it like that."

Shayera didn't believe him. "How did you mean it?" she demanded furiously.

"The other Thanagarians, not you," he said quickly.

Shayera didn't respond. Instead, she flew over towards Zari, who stiffened slightly at her approach.

"Zari, I believe you," she said.

"Thank you," Zari said with gratitude.

"Do you want to come up to the Watchtower with us?"

"Will I be a prisoner?" Zari asked.

"No, of course, you won't." Shayera looked back at John. "She's to be treated with respect, understand?"

"Shay," he began. "I'm sorry."

"Just don't," she interrupted. "Let's get back up to the Watchtower." Shayera pulled out a small communicator that she had brought with her and gave it to Zari. "Take this and put it in your ear."

"Shayera," John warned. "We shouldn't be giving out-"

"Save it, John." Shayera reached for her ear as Zari put her communicator in hers. "Watchtower, lock onto the five signals here and bring us up."

Zari heard a voice in her ear. _"Signals locked, prepare for Teleport."_

Teleport? That alarmed Zari, she had never teleported before. She knew what it was, but she had never believed it was real.

By the time she had finished her thought, she felt a tingling wash over her as the world around her faded out into a world of silver and white. Then another place formed around her, a place of steel and glass.

She looked over to Shayera who was stood beside her on the large platform with the three Green Lanterns.

"Welcome to the Watchtower," Shayera said. "I think we should get you settled in."

"We don't have a room for her," John said.

She glared at him. "What about the one Cassie was staying in while she was here those couple of days?"

"Kyle's staying in that one," John said.

"She can sleep in my room for the time being," Shayera said. "When the repairs are finally done in the next few days, she can take it and I'll retake my old room."

"You mean, your new one," John commented. "Your old one was obliterated in the attack."

Shayera folded her arms with a glare. "John, don't talk to me, I'm not happy with you right now."

"Shay, I'm sorry."

"Just go do something else. I'm gonna show Zari around."

"Shay."

"No, John. Go back down to Brazil. I'll get her settled in and then I'll have to head back down to my tower."

"We can't leave her unsupervised," John warned.

"I'll get Kara or someone else to look after her. Satisfied?"

"Yeah, that should be fine for now. And sorry, Shay."

"I would accept, but you might think I'm lying."

"That's not fair."

"No, you're right it's not. I brought it on myself, I know that, but I never expected you to be the one to remind me of it."

"Sorry."

"Stop saying sorry."

"S-" John cringed as he nearly said sorry yet again. "Listen, for now, I think it would be best if I took the ring."

Shayera folded her arms and scowled, while Kyle looked confused.

"Why?" Kyle asked.

"Because I said so," John said. "She won't need it up here."

Zari decided to comply. She reached down and pulled on it, only it didn't budge. "It's stuck."

"They can get like that with new recruits sometimes," Kyle said. "Keep at it, it will come off."

Zari tried again. Sure enough, it eased off. Her clothes changed to the near prison clothes she had been wearing at the facility in Canada as she passed it to John.

He took it. "Welcome to the Watchtower," he said. He then looked back at Shayera. "I'll make sure the others know," he told her before he left.

Shayera sighed once he was gone. "I'll never be free of this guilt," she muttered. She glanced over at Hirunan and Kyle who were looking at her. "What?" she demanded.

"Nothing," Kyle said. "Let's go Hiru."

The both of them left, leaving the two Thanagarians with only the teleporter operator for company. He remained quiet, keeping his eyes on the control board.

"I'll show you the mess hall," Shayera said, before correcting herself. "Well, it's actually a cafeteria."

"Thanks," Zari said, putting her hand on her stomach. "I am feeling a little hungry."

"Come on, I'll take you there."

The two left the large room and as they made their way down the corridor, Shayera tried to get to know her a bit better.

"So you said you arrived with the invasion fleet?"

"Yeah, three years ago now."

"You look a little young. How old are you?"

"Seventeen I guess. I don't know really."

"So you were fourteen?"

"Yeah. Before you ask, my dad smuggled me aboard. Only he and a few others knew."

"Where are you from originally? Thanagar?"

"A colony world. Doesn't matter, it was destroyed by the Gordanians. My dad was on one of the ships sent to fight them off and he was part of the air squadron. He was there as my mother died."

Shayera was quiet for a moment before she asked another question. A rather painful one at that. "How many did you lose?"

"Mother, my little brother and all of my friends. We were a farming community. We weren't military, none of us was. We tried to fight back and we did manage to take a lot of them out, but they simply had better numbers and better training."

"I lost both of my parents too," Shayera told her.

"I did have my father's axe," Zari said, casting her eyes downwards. "It was taken from me and I don't know where it is."

"By the ones that captured you?"

"Yeah, I think so. It was with me before they tranquillised me."

"Where did this happen?"

"The forests. I saw that alien ship crash and I saw the fighting. I also saw you there."

"Alien ship?"

"A few months ago."

"I know the one you mean. It had someone called Koriand'r and her brother on it, as well as that other Thanagarian that got himself killed when the Gordanians attacked."

Zari froze, her eyes going wide. "There were Gordos here?"

"Yes. We managed to fight them off."

"How?"

"An organised team effort. There were only six ships, five once the command vessel fled. The Justice League is quite a powerful group and we're getting stronger every single day."

"That is something that confuses me. What is the Justice League exactly? I have seen a little bit about you on the television, but I don't know what you are. Are you military, a police force, what?"

"You had access to a TV?"

"Yeah, in the room I spent nearly all of my time in. They gave me it a few weeks ago. I was locked in there, so I spent a lot of time just watching the television."

"Well to answer your question, we are more vigilantes with superpowers."

"You don't have superpowers," Zari pointed out.

"On Earth, Thanagarian military training, having wings and being far stronger and more durable to the natives kinda is the same as having superpowers. Besides, Batman doesn't have powers."

"Is he the scary, creepy one?"

Shayera chuckled. "Yeah, he is. Anyway, we're here." They stepped through a set of sliding doors into the cafeteria.

Some eyes turned to her and the chatter began to die down until everyone was looking at her. Zari felt uncomfortable and unsettled. Then, table by table they turned their attention back to their previous conversations, paying neither Thanagarian any more attention.

Shayera pointed to an empty table. "Go sit down, I'll get you something to eat."

Zari did as instructed, sitting near the window that looked down at the planet Earth. She sat there quietly while trying to listen in to what some of those at other tables was saying without making it too obvious.

The two who were sat at the nearest table, two blonde girls, maybe her age were talking. One wearing a red outfit was complaining about having to be the sidekick to someone named Speedy. The other in blue with a white star on her chest also complained about being stuck with someone named "Pat" for the foreseeable future.

The blonde in red then stood up. "I have to go, gotta meet up with Speedy," she told the other girl. "We're planning a little prank to play on Arrow."

"See ya, Cissie and have fun."

"Bye Courtney."

Zari glanced up as the girl in red left the cafeteria. Zari looked behind her towards the Courtney girl. Their eyes met for a moment and Zari quickly looked back around in time to see Shayera putting a tray of food and a glass of water down in front of her.

"It's pasta," Shayera said, sitting opposite.

"Aren't you eating?" Zari asked.

"I've already had something a few hours back. I'm now working in a different timezone, so the Watchtower clock is a little behind mine. I should be in bed right now, but here I am."

"Oh, okay." Zari picked up the fork and took a bite.

"Is it good?"

"Yeah, I had some back at the facility in Canada."

"You said you spent all of your time in a room?"

"Yeah, they didn't want to let me out because I kept trying to escape."

"About your escape. How did it happen? How did you get out?"

"I made a hole in the walls and fled."

"And now you're here."

"Now I'm here," Zari repeated.

Shayera slowly stood up. "I'm going to head to the bathroom. Will you be okay for a few minutes?"

Zari nodded. "Um, sure."

"I won't be long." Shayera stood up and quickly left while Zari turned her attention back to her pasta and finished it off.

As she put the fork down, the girl in dark blue with the white star on her chest moved over to her table and sat down opposite her.

"Hey, I haven't seen you around before," she said. "I'm Stargirl."

"I just arrived on this station a little while ago," Zari told her.

"You have a name?"

"Zari."

"You're Thanagarian, right?"

"Yeah," Zari said feeling a little nervous. "I've been on Earth a few years."

"I've never heard of you. Where were you based out of?"

"I lived in the forests of Canada."

"The forest? You weren't a hero?"

"No, I wasn't. Until just a few months I lived there with a kid called Danny, who I saved from a bear attack. Then I was captured by some Canadian organisation and kept as a prisoner while Danny was sent to live with his Aunt and Uncle."

Stargirl blinked at her. "So, were you rescued?"

"I escaped and the Green Lanterns found me."

"Oh. You wanna hang out or something? I'm bored and I need something to do."

"I was instructed to stay here."

"That's fine, there's not much to do around here anyway."

"Do you not have something to do yourself?" Zari asked her.

"No, I had training this morning with Green Lantern. The guy's never satisfied, always complaining that I don't take this seriously enough and that it isn't a game. I'm like, I know it isn't a game, but what's the harm in having some fun, right?"

"I suppose," Zari said unsurely.

"I don't think I've ever seen him smile, like ever. He's miserable all the time, y'know?"

"I assume you are referring to the one called John?" Zari asked.

"Yeah, that's him. You've met him?"

"I didn't like him. He called me and my people liars."

"Well, your people did kinda lie to us," Stargirl said uneasily. "Tried to blow up the Earth or something while telling us they were here to help."

Zari fell silent. Even though she disliked the accusation, the girl was right, not about her personally but as to why her people had come to this planet.

"I'm not a liar," Zari said. "I'm not military, I'm from a colony world. We were farmers, not warriors."

"Well, maybe you're not, but that Talak guy was."

"I am not that Talak guy."

"Well obviously. You said you lived in the forest? That musta sucked."

"If you mean it was unpleasant? Then no, it wasn't actually that bad. Now, being a captive, that 'sucked' quite a lot."

"Yeah, that musta been crappy. What did they do to you?"

"Thankfully nothing but keep me in a room. At least until I escaped where they tried to stick some tracking device in me."

"Wow, that sounds like it really sucked." Courtney looked around and sighed as a guy in a white mech suit stepped into the cafeteria. His helmet was off and tucked under his left arm. "There's Pat, I have to go, see ya."

She stood slowly and moved off towards the much older man, who looked at Zari with a slight frown before the two of them left the cafeteria together.

Zari remained there and patiently waited for Shayera to return.


	10. Chapter 10

****Chapter Ten****

 **Redwood Forest**

 **Outside San Francisco**

 **United States**

 **08:56 - PDT**

 ** **August 18, 2007****

Galatea stared out of the window out into the trees. She was deeply lost in thought, dwelling not only on what she had told Clara who manned the nearby fire lookout tower but about the acts of murder that she had committed.

It sent her skin cold when she remembered the joy, the thrill of taking someone's life. How easy it had been. The bone and flesh of a human were like old decaying plaster. It crumbled and tore with barely any effort and they were so slow, unable to move with any sort of speed at all and definitely not enough to get away.

There was nowhere they could hide as she could see through walls, no way they could defend themselves as she was hundreds, maybe thousands of times stronger than them. It was life snuffed out with almost a yawn.

Now she felt bile in her gut when she thought back to it. How cold she had been, how Emil, the man she saw as her father couldn't look at her when she came back from these assassination missions.

Galatea wondered where it had begun to change. When the guilt had started. No, she didn't have to wonder, because she knew. It was the connection she had, that she _still_ had with Supergirl, or Kara, or perhaps even Argo as she was called now.

Their connection had re-established itself a few months back but had gone dormant again. She sometimes had dreams of the Watchtower as though she was there, but she knew they could be echoes of what Kara was doing at the time. It unsettled her and she wanted to find out what was causing it.

Back when she had first started feeling the guilt, she hated it. She wanted to destroy Supergirl so that she no longer had to feel the pain. Then, after the first battle with her progenitor, the connection had seemingly ended.

During that battle, there had been an unlikely crossroad in her life. The Question had told her to kill him. She had honestly thought about it, but had been unable to do it.

She could remember the self-doubt and the confusion. She could also remember the thinking whether things could be different.

But the path to a better future had been closed off to her when the defeated Supergirl got her second wind.

Everything she had been thinking about was smashed from her mind from the attack. Supergirl took advantage of her confused state and attacked, smashing a car, or rather a holographic car on top of her.

The whole fight had taken place in a Cadmus facility that housed an impressive holographic arena. She had trained there and she had planned on killing Supergirl there.

Galatea realized that she had not really thought about the Question's request until now. Sure, it hadn't really been a request, more of a hunch of his which could have easily ended in his death, but it had been a potential turning point. One that she had missed.

That was most likely why Supergirl had attacked the way she did. Because she had every reason to believe that Question was about to die and no reason to believe that Galatea wouldn't kill him.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Emil step up beside her. He said nothing, which she was grateful for. She wanted the peace and quiet, though she did appreciate his presence.

After a few minutes, he broke the silence. "Are you okay? You seem a little depressed?"

"Me?" she said, glancing at him. "Nah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"I guess. Just been thinking of stuff."

"What do you mean by stuff?"

"Who I am and what I've done."

"What you've done?" he repeated.

"Yeah, what I've done. What I did, the people who are dead because of me."

"You did it because they told you to. You were following their orders."

"I did it because I enjoyed it, dad," she confided in him. "I liked the fact that I had so much power over them and there was nothing they could do. They were powerless, defenceless, pathetic."

"Tea, it isn't your fault."

"It is my fault. I'm the one that's pathetic."

"Tea, you're not pathetic."

"Yes, I am."

"No you're not," he said more forcefully. He then asked a question. "Do you regret what you did?"

She thought for a moment. "Yes," she answered.

"Do you want to change things?"

"Yeah, I do, but I don't know how."

"Hard work and a lot of it. You had a rocky start, but you're your own person now. You're not a tool, you're not a killer."

"I am a killer, though. I've actually killed people."

"No, Cadmus were the killers."

"We were both a part of Cadmus. Pretend all you want, dad, but I murdered people and at the time I enjoyed it, I thought it was fun."

He looked at her in shock which made her feel worse. "You don't mean that. How can you find it fun?"

"You're not listening to me. I _found_ it fun, past-tense. I don't find it fun now."

"I can't believe you would ever find it fun, Tea. Maybe you tell yourself that, but I know that deep down that you always hated it."

"But I didn't, dad and that's the problem," she said in frustration.

"I can see that it's tearing you up, that you really regret it. That tells me that something."

"What does it tell you? People don't change, dad, not this much."

"And that's what you're scared of. That you haven't changed, that you're the same as you were back then?"

"Maybe. I don't know."

"Tea, maybe you did enjoy it and even if you did I know for a fact that you've changed. The very fact you're stood here dwelling on it proves to me that whatever you were then, you aren't that any longer."

"Maybe."

Emil squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. "You are my daughter and I'm proud of you. You have the power within you to change the world for the better. I feel it deep down that this is your calling, Tea."

"Maybe," she said for the third time.

"Not maybe, I know. We might be in hiding now, but it won't be like that forever. One day the world will see you as the good person you truly are."

"They'll see me as a murderer, dad. People don't care about what good you've done today, they only care about the evil you did yesterday."

"But you can change that view, make people trust you."

"Like Superman did after Darkseid?"

Emil looked back out of the window and rocked back on his heels. The Man of Steel was a sore topic for him. Superman had been a good friend until the day Darkseid had warped his mind.

Fear and opportunity had led to her creation. In a way, Darkseid was to thank for her very existence.

Emil then answered. "Superman is a different story entirely. You can be better than him, stronger than 's within you."

"But he's been basking in yellow sunlight his whole life. He's attuned his whole body to it. I'm just a copy of Supergirl."

"That might be true regarding Superman, but you aren't an exact copy."

Galatea turned from the window. "What do you mean?"

"All attempts at an exact duplication failed. We had to make modifications."

She looked down at her hands. "Pity one of them wasn't removing Kryptonite as a weakness."

"Oh, we tried that, but it resulted in an instability in the genome. You would have ended up like Bizarro."

"So, if you remove the Kryptonite weakness, it makes us into zombies?"

"It was a side effect," Emil told her.

"And these modifications. What are they?"

"You can absorb sunlight at a slightly faster rate." Emil looked down at the floor, closing his eyes. "There's also some other alien DNA inside you."

"Alien?" Galatea asked, both intrigued and slightly disconcerted. "I'm guessing other than Kryptonian?"

"Yes. We needed something to stabilize your genetics. The cloning process doesn't work properly on Kryptonians. I had heard rumblings that someone had figured it out before we found ourselves on the run, but nothing came of it."

"What kind of alien DNA are we talking about?"

"Cadmus had some genetic data from one of the aliens that attacked a few years ago, the Imperium they were called. Rumour had it that they had captured one, but it was only rumoured, at least at first. Turns out they actually did. We combined a small amount of that genetic data with yours."

"You mean those shapeshifting gloop monsters?" Now she was really feeling disconcerted.

"You don't have any of their abilities or weaknesses. We only used a small amount to stabilise you so that you didn't die in the tank."

"Tank," she repeated. She hated being reminded about the fact that she was grown, not born. She looked back out of the window. "So my biological parents are Kara and some gloop monster. Makes me feel great, dad."

"You share almost one-hundred percent of your DNA with Supergirl, Tea. The other was just used as a stabiliser, that's all."

Galatea sighed. "Perhaps you're right about all of this. The past is the past, it can't be changed. But the future is what I make it."

Emil smiled warmly. "Yes, that's it. Make the future your own. And remember, you're my daughter, Tea. I'm here for you."

"I do and thanks, dad."

Galatea really appreciated how much faith he had in her. She knew how lucky she was that it was him that had brought her into the world and not someone else. Despite what those in the Justice League might think of him, he was a good person.

Everything he did, he did because he thought it was the right thing to do. It was inspirational in many ways, but she also didn't feel that she could ever live up to his example. She didn't know if she even wanted to try. She was no hero, she simply wanted to be able to live her life.

But as her father had said, she had the power within her to change the world for the better. But was that what she wanted? Just a year ago the only thing she wanted in life was to kill Supergirl.

Did she still want that? Maybe? Regardless, her father was right, she was her own person. She didn't have to be beholden to the fact that she was a clone, a copy of Kara.

She was Galatea, she was a person and she wanted to be able to be able to live her life as she wanted to live it. But as long as she was on the run she wouldn't be able to.

Emil had been planning their eventual escape from the United States and that plan involved her. He wanted to head to Europe and he wanted to use her strength and ability to fly to move them.

Slowly, Emil had been gathering supplies in order to build something that she could carry that he and Pauline could also sit in. Once he had all the parts, she would be the one putting what would amount to a cage with seats together, using her heat vision to heat up the steel and then her strength to bend it into shape like she was doing some kind of origami.

Apparently, Emil had some connections to some people in Europe who were working on some project and he wanted to join them. Galatea wasn't entirely sure she liked the idea, especially considering how the Justice League were literally everywhere now, including having a base in Paris.

The only real way of getting away was to leave the planet and that wasn't even an option they could take. They would simply have to make do and remain vigilant. It was all they could do.

"I'm heading out for a walk," she told him.

He nodded. "Yes, some fresh air might do you some good."

* * *

 ** **Watchtower II****

 ** **Earth Orbit****

 ** **13:01 – Station Time****

Zari hadn't slept well last night and she hadn't gotten out of bed until late. Now she was staring out of the window at the moon in the distance, as it slowly rose over the planet below.

So far today, Zari hadn't had any breakfast or lunch and while she felt hungry she didn't feel like leaving her room. She felt safe here. It was strange because it was an unfamiliar place on an orbital space station full of beings much more powerful than her.

Her door chime sounded, making her jump in surprise. With adrenaline starting to pump in her veins, she slowly made her way to her door.

It slid open and she found Shayera standing on the other side.

"Evening," she said.

Zari frowned. "I think it's early afternoon."

"It's evening down in Africa where I'm currently stationed," Shayera said as she stepped into the room. "How are you settling in?"

"I'm not," Zari put bluntly. "I don't know anyone here and I think people are suspicious of me."

"Humans are a suspicious people," Shayera said. "That's one of the many things they share with us Thanagarians."

"Maybe they do, but I wouldn't know. My experience with humans so far has been mostly negative."

"Then let's change that experience to something more positive," Shayera said. "Come on, let's get you out of this room and go for a walk."

Zari really didn't feel up to doing that. "Can we do it later?" she asked, hoping the older woman didn't force her to do it.

"Why later?"

"Because I want to talk to you for a little while," she said.

In truth she just wanted someone to talk to, someone she felt could understand her.

Shayera stepped further into the room and the door slid shut behind her. Zari turned and faced the window and peered down at the planet below.

"Before the Gordanians came, I had never been in space," Zari began. "I had lived on the farm with my mother, my little brother and my father."

Shayera remained silent as she stood next to her, her gaze following Zari's as they both peered out into the darkness beyond.

"It wasn't just us, though. We had some help from some people from town who worked the fields. Though when the military came looking for volunteers to join the war effort, they left along with a lot of other people. The town became almost barren."

"Did your father leave with them?" Shayera asked.

"No, he remained until he was drafted. With him gone, it was just me, my mother and my little brother trying to maintain the farm. It wasn't easy when the demand kept rising. We exported most of our goods off-world and a lot of it ended up going to the war effort."

"And you had no help?"

"Eventually, when other farms started to fail. I remember the knock at the door and the defeated look on Kedran's face."

"Kedran?" Shayera asked. "Who was he?"

"He owned his own farm, but everyone left to join the war, even his daughters and sons. He couldn't work his farm alone, so he left it to work for my mother."

"That must have been difficult for him."

Zari nodded. "And his wasn't the only story like that. A once thriving farming colony world was producing less while the military was demanding more, all while taking all the strongest workers from us."

"The war was difficult for everyone," Shayera commented, "Especially those that fought in it."

"We lost, didn't we," Zari said with a solemn realisation.

"Yeah, we lost," Shayera confirmed as she closed her eyes. "In a big way."

"So that's it? No more Empire?"

"That's right, Zari. The Thanagarian Empire is gone. At least as far as I'm aware. There might be some pockets left out there, but the empire itself is ashes, along with the surface of Thanagar."

"So we're alone?"

"No Zari, we're not alone. There are people here that can and will be your friend if you give them the chance."

"Do you have a lot of friends here?"

Shayera stepped up to the window and rested her hand on it. "I have some. Probably more than I realise." She turned and looked Zari in the eyes. "You've had it hard, I can understand that. But give humanity a chance. They might just surprise you."

"Did they surprise you?"

The older Thanagarian nodded. "Yeah, they did. There's a lot of bad in this world, I won't lie to you about that or pretend there isn't. But there's also a lot of good."

"I'll believe it when I see it."

"Come on, you can't stay cooped up in here all day. Let's go for that walk."

Shayera stepped up to the door and it slid open. Zari was reluctant to go anywhere. "Can we do this another time?" she asked.

"Come on, Zari. You've been in here all day."

She knew Shayera was right. She did want to leave the small room but she didn't want to go for a walk around the space station or meet people. She just wanted to spread her wings and fly.

"If I go for this walk, can we go for a flight sometime?"

Shayera smiled. "Sure we can. I'd like that myself."

"Thank you," Zari said as she moved out into the corridor.

Shayera led the way. "have you eaten yet?"

"No, not since last night."

"Then that's where we're headed."

* * *

 **Airfield**

 **Fifty Miles East of San Francisco**

 **United States**

 **11:32 - PDT**

Colonel Rick Flag Jr. stood there by the black van with the team of degenerates all stood in a line in front of him. The closer it got to them starting the task, the less faith he had that they would or even could actually complete it.

"Let's go over everything one last time," Flag said as he folded his arms and glared harshly at those in front of him. "Firefly and the Imperium Martian will set fires along the south river. This is several miles south of the house where our targets are staying. This should draw any ranger's or anyone else's attention over there giving you some freedom to deal with Galatea and the other two with less chance of lost innocence."

Flag looked at the faces of those before him making sure they were all paying attention.

"We have two outlines for the mission, one for if she's there at the house and one if she isn't. The one where she isn't there stands a better chance as we can use Hamilton as a hostage to knock her off balance."

"And the female doctor?" Vertigo asked.

"Pauline Lester is of no real consequence, so deal with her whenever," Flag said. "In fact, it would be better to not have her complicate the mission. She sided with Hamilton and the clone so she has sided with enemies of the United States. Terminate and get her out of the way." Flag pointed at Vertigo. "Your job will be to disorientate the target enough so that Doctor Light can hit her with the Kryptonite radiation. Then Funk should be able to easily finish her off."

"Do you think it will be that easy?" Vertigo asked unconvinced.

"If you do your jobs and don't try to take the glory all for yourself, or try getting out idiotic quips or anything else of that nature, then yes, it should work. Take her by surprise or use Hamilton as a hostage to throw her off balance. Any questions?" He looked at their faces and they looked back. "I guess not," he said. "Get in the van. We'll be at our destination in one hour."

Flag watched them all climb into the back of the van before he headed for the front and climbed into the passenger seat. He looked at the driver, then to the villains now in the back. He wasn't hopeful that they would succeed, but if they failed then at least the world would be rid of a few undesirables.

Personally, he would prefer to have a skilled team of professionals deal with this, but those in charge wanted plausible deniability if things went wrong with the operation. After-all a group of criminals following through on their own perverse nature was easier to cover up.

Flag looked ahead. "Let's get moving."

As the van left the airfield and onto the highway, Flag got a feeling that today wasn't going to end well.


	11. Chapter 11

****Chapter Eleven****

 **Redwood Forest**

 **Outside San Francisco**

 **United States**

 **12:28 - PDT**

 ** **August 18, 2007****

Galatea flew fast, the forest beneath her stretching on for miles and miles. The only thing that even remotely broke the skyline was tiny-looking skyscrapers on the distant horizon that made up the city of San Francisco.

She wished she could say that she was having fun, but thoughts were muddled, lost in events that had happened not so long ago.

She clearly remembered enjoying it, she knew that she even relished it. The fear in their eyes. Them trying to escape, to flee, to run. They might as well have had no legs, it would have certainly made no difference.

Now when she thought back she felt dizzy, sick. The conflicting thoughts were driving her crazy. She wished she could look back and see that at the time she felt nothing but hate and resentment for what she was doing, but that wasn't the case.

The worst part was that she honestly believed that the person who was thrilled to kill was who she really was and the person she was now only existed because of the influence of Kara through whatever bond they shared.

That thought made her feel sick. To even think that she owed her current sense of morality to someone else. That it was not hers, but borrowed was frightening to her.

Since she had discovered she had the connection, she had wanted to break a while, she had thought it was gone. But what if that bond was the only thing stopping her from being a psycho killer?

Galatea slowed and stared off in the direction of Clara's tower. She needed someone to talk to, someone who didn't know her as well as Emil. While she knew he trusted her and knew he loved her as his daughter, he didn't want to listen and he certainly didn't want to believe her when she told him how she had felt. He closed his ears and pretended that how she felt now was how she had always felt.

She had already let slip to Clara about her past and she knew she had to talk to her sooner or later about it. Galatea wasn't the type to run away from anything and she felt that she could confide in her even though she had only known her a scarce few months.

The clone flew in the direction of Clara's tower and in a matter of seconds she was there. She slowed and landed, seeing Clara inside with her feet up watching TV on the small portable.

Galatea tapped gently against the door indicating her presence. Clara looked up at her, then turned off her TV before letting her in.

"Hey," Clara said. "I thought you'd run off."

She cringed. "No, I just needed to think."

"Right. Well, it's nice to know you're still in the area."

Galatea stepped over to the window and looked outside. "Yeah. Sorry about how I reacted before."

"It's fine," Clara said sitting back down. "I could have reacted better too. Was a bit of a shock, though."

"No, you reacted better than I could have hoped after what I told you."

There was an awkward silence which wasn't surprising. How did you strike up a conversation with someone when they knew you were a murderer?

Clara broke it. "So, are you here for any particular reason?" she asked.

Galatea nodded. "Yeah, I need to talk and Dad isn't the best listener. He likes to believe I'm some hero, but I'm not. Truth is I'm scared."

"What are you scared of?"

"Me. Of who I was, of who I am and what I could be."

"Because you killed those people?"

The question made her uneasy and it was clear that Clara was uneasy as well. Did she answer truthfully, or did she evade?

The clone decided to just be honest. "No, because I enjoyed it. Because that's who I am," the clone said, turning around to face her.

"Is it?" Clara questioned. "Seems to me that what happened is that you developed a soul."

"Maybe," Galatea said, staring out at the forest. "The truth is that I was made as a tool to fight the Justice League."

"Made?" Clara repeated uneasily. "What do you mean you were made?"

"I'm not human."

"I know that. You're Kryptonian."

She shook her head. "No, I know, I didn't mean it like that."

"Then how did you mean it?"

"I wasn't born, I was grown."

"Grown? Like in a test tube?"

Galatea clenched her jaw. It was the one truth that she hated. The fact that she was a copy of someone else. That she was made as a weapon, as a tool. Was that all she was? Or was there more? Could there be more? Emil seemed to think so and she liked to believe it, but what if he was wrong?

"I'm a clone of Supergirl," Galatea revealed. "A resource to be used and when they thought I was no longer useful to them they wanted to destroy me."

Clara seemed surprised by that. "They were going to kill you?"

"I'm not a person to them. Just another instrument, just another tool to be used then thrown away."

"That sounds horrible."

"If they find me they'll finish the job."

"Isn't there anything you can do? Couldn't you seek asylum or something?"

Galatea shrugged. "I don't think we'll honestly get that chance."

"What about the Justice League. Couldn't you go to them?"

The clone began to chuckle, which turned into laughter. Clara frowned and looked a little afraid, but she couldn't help it. The notion of going to the Justice League for help was that absurd.

Finally, Galatea calmed down enough to answer. "I'm not on good terms with the Justice League."

"But they're good people, right?"

"As long as they think you're good too. They don't trust me and there's a good reason for that."

"Because of what you've done?"

"Because of what Cadmus made me do. Because of how I behaved because deep down I'm not a good person."

"You don't think you're a good person?"

"No, I don't. Everything I am is because of Kara, because of Supergirl. Her influence is the only reason I haven't killed you."

Clara was starting to look a little scared. "What do you mean by that?"

"I have a mental connection with her. Before I had it, I loved killing. Then, I started to see things, _feel_ things. At first, I thought it was a weakness. It changed me and now I'm afraid that I'll go back to who I was before."

"That you'll become a killer again?"

"Yeah, that I'll become a killer again."

It was the disturbing truth that she didn't want to face. The reality was that without the connection she would be a very different person now.

She didn't even know Clara, so she wasn't sure why she had told her all of this. She was just one of many employed to watch over the forest over the summer months.

But there was something about her that made Galatea open up. Maybe because she didn't judge her and listened to what she had to say. It was a nice thing to have, even if it would have to come to an end when they eventually had to move on.

Suddenly Clara stood up, taking Galatea by surprise. "Is that smoke?" she asked looking out of the window.

The clone turned around and looked. Sure enough, smoke was rising up into the sky on the horizon.

The Kryptonian clone quickly headed for the door. "I'll go check it out, see if it's some campers accidentally setting fire to the forest again."

"I'll call it in," Clara said.

"Wait a few minutes. I'll put it out for you."

"Okay, but if it isn't out in ten minutes, I'm calling it in."

In a moment, the Kryptonian was in the air and heading towards the rising smoke, reaching it in a matter of seconds.

Down below she saw what appeared to be a man clad in silver with a winged jetpack on his back. In his hand, he held what appeared to be a pistol which was shooting out a gout of fire. She knew who it was, not because she had met him but because she had seen his file and a drone version of him had been used in her training program.

It was the nuisance known as Firefly. She knew his moves and she knew his capabilities. He wasn't a match for her, not even close.

He turned and looked up at her before taking off at a relatively slow speed in an attempt to get away. Knowing that she had plenty of time and that he wasn't going anywhere fast, she took in a deep breath and began to douse the fire with a stream of ice breath.

Believing that it was out, she shot forward, easily catching up with the silver firethrower. Before he knew what was happening, she had torn off his rocketpack and ripped the flame pistol from his grip.

Then she dropped him.

As he fell like a rock, she threw his propane tank high into the air and vaporised it in a fiery explosion with her heat vision before she descended past the falling, screaming man and caught him before he hit the trees.

"Why are you out here?" she demanded knowing that the fall would have loosened him up. "Answer me!"

"Okay, okay, I'll talk," he said clearly terrified. "I had to, I didn't have a choice, Flag made me do it."

Galatea knew what that meant. Task Force X, the Suicide Squad. Aptly named in this case considering they were going after her.

"What's your mission?"

"We're supposed to kill you."

"I don't go down easily," she told him, almost finding it funny that they would even try.

What he said next sent a chill up her back. "But what about Hamilton?" Firefly questioned.

Without thinking, she dropped him, ignoring his screams of terror as she flew off as fast as she could towards the house.

She had to get back before it was too late.

* * *

 **12:40 - PDT**

Colonel Flag was rather pleased with how things had gone so far. Firefly had played his part. Galatea had put out most of the fire, but had left enough that it had reignited. Now she was on her way back to the house where she would be running into a trap.

There was a problem though. He had lost contact with the Martian Girl. Just to be safe he had hit the terminate button, however, the signal hadn't reached her.

This was a major cause for concern. They couldn't afford to lose the thing, not here and definitely not now where the creature could ruin everything.

His eyes narrowed as he heard a commotion from Vertigo's team. At first, he assumed that the primary target had arrived. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

Instead, Vertigo had something else to report and it was something that could jeopardise the whole mission.

* * *

 **12:42 - PDT**

The house was on fire.

As she arrived Galatea scanned to see if her father or anyone else was inside, but thankfully she found no one.

But that begged the question as to where they were? If they weren't in the house, then where?

That's when a voice shouted. "Look who's here!"

She looked down to see a bulky muscular man with pale skin. On his face was a sick smile, one that made her feel uneasy.

Then she saw the two human forms lying in the dirt behind him. One of them Pauline Lester, the other Emil Hamilton.

"What have you done!?" she screamed out before shooting forwards.

Suddenly a wave of nausea struck her and she found herself going wildly off course and ploughing through several trees.

She quickly got her bearings and saw Count Vertigo. Like Firefly she didn't know him from ever having met him before but she had seen his file. He had the ability to disorientate a target with technology.

Knowing that she had to act quickly before he attacked again, she shot out a blast of heat vision fried the device attached to his head. The man stumbled backwards from the force and fell down effectively neutralized if still breathing.

She turned her attention back to the pale man. In seconds she was in front of him but before she could act a blast of green energy struck her hard, making her stumble. Using this opportunity, her pale opponent punched her in the jaw, knocking her off her feet and into the dirt.

In seconds the man was on top of her, his fist reared back. "Nothin' personal, but Funk's gotta do what Funk's gotta do."

Before he landed the punch she headbutted him hard sending him literally flying off of her. He struck a tree hard and fell to the ground.

Believing him to be out of the fight, Galatea got onto her hands and knees and crawled over to Emil. "Dad," she said as she checked for a pulse. There was none.

She didn't even have time to feel anything as another blast of green energy sent her sprawling. She managed to get a look at the man responsible, Doctor Arthur Light before Funk filled her vision. He punched down at her but she dodged and managed to kick him, sending him hurtling into Doctor Light.

The two crashed into the dirt while she ran back to Hamilton's side. She began CPR, but her efforts were met by another blast of green energy.

Funk ran at her, but she was ready. She managed to get to her feet and plant her fist into his gut sending him hurtling back into Light for the second time.

She caught another glance of Emil lying in the dirt and the sorrow she felt turned to rage.

Galatea turned her gaze to Funk and Light who were picking themselves back up off of the ground. She didn't give them the chance to get onto their feet.

She turned all of her anger into energy, her eyes heating up as they began to glow a fiery red.

With a scream, she released her heat vision like a solar flare. She couldn't see, her sight blinded by the red energy. She kept on shooting until her eyes began to burn.

Then she stopped to be greeted by a charred trench. Neither Funk or Light were anywhere to be seen. There was no way they had gotten clear.

She had killed them. She had taken life yet again, used her powers to turn them to ash.

But she didn't care.

Movement caught her attention she turned her head to see Vertigo fleeing into the trees. She took to the air and cut him off, landing right in front of him.

He didn't have time to even react before she had grabbed a hold of him by the scruff of the neck and lifted him off of the ground.

"Tell Flag that he's made a big mistake. Tell him that I'll be coming for him, that I'll be coming for them all."

She threw him down into the dirt and walked away. He quickly scrabbled back to his feet and he fled into the trees and out of sight.

* * *

 **13:15 - PDT**

Rick Flag had seriously considered terminating Vertigo, but in the end, he waited for him to return to the van.

The mission was a partial success, but the primary target had not been dealt with and said target was now a bigger threat than ever before.

This meant that in his eyes it was no success at all. It was a complete and utter failure. Funk had gone out of sequence, killing Lester and Hamilton before the target had arrived on the scene. Instead of using them as leverage, Funk had essentially turned her into a raging murder machine.

The most concerning part about all of this was that Galatea was more than capable of carrying out her threat and he knew they might have just unleashed the monster they were trying to destroy.

The rear door opened and Vertigo climbed into the van. He sat down next to the bruised and injured Firefly.

Flag spoke. "You failed," he said simply. "Failure means that you continue your sentence. I doubt we will be using you again."

"Fine," Vertigo said. "Just get me out of here."

Flag leant forward and spoke to the driver. "Take us back to the airfield and get a move on."

As the van pulled away, two people, a man in a trench coat and a woman climbed out of a hidden muscle car and watched them leave.

* * *

 **13:28 - PDT**

Galatea sat on the dirt next to Emil and Pauline. The wind was blowing and she felt empty. She could see the smoke from the fire in the distance that had been started by Firefly, but what did she care? The whole forest could burn to the ground for all she cared.

All this time she had been so arrogant. She knew that she was nigh on invincible, that she was almost unstoppable and she had been so careless because of it.

In the end, she was so arrogant about her own invulnerability that she hadn't really thought about her father's vulnerability as a human.

Now she had no idea what to do. She had no plan and no place to go. She looked back at the burning building. It was a visual representation of her life. One giant fire that would leave nothing but ashes.

Galatea moved away from Emil and Pauline's bodies and began to dig with her bare hands, her eyes stinging with tears. She had never experienced loss before and it was hitting her hard.

With two holes dug, she placed them inside and covered them up. There she stood in silence wondering if she should leave or stay.

She knew it was only a matter of time before the firefighters showed up. With a silent prayer, she took to the air and headed east.

She was aimless. She had no destination in mind as there wasn't anywhere. All she could do was fly. There was nothing else that she could do.

The things she had taken for granted, the carelessness that she had shown. Emil being there was something that she had accepted and now he wasn't.

She literally had no one.

Galatea continued heading eastward wondering what her next move should be? Was there even a next move?

As she flew, a deep throbbing began to pound in her head. She tried to ignore it at first, but it began to grow more and more in intensity. She didn't know if it was grief that was causing it, or the overuse of her heat vision or even because of that green light she was hit with? Whatever it was, it slowed her down.

Eventually, it became too much and she landed on a ridge overlooking nothing but desert.

She sat there while a headache slowly subsided. She was about to once again take to the skies when she noticed someone approaching from above.

Immediately she was on guard as a pea-green skinned woman in white and blue descended towards her.

"Who are you?" Galatea demanded, ready to fight if she had to.

The newcomer spoke. "I need to know something," she said more as a statement than a question.

"What do you mean?"

"We were sent to kill you, but I don't know why."

Galatea clenched her fists. She was ready to defend herself if she had to. "You don't want to mess with me right now," she warned. "Just turn around and leave or else you will die, do you understand? I cannot deal with this right now."

The green girl's eyes began to glow red and immediately Galatea's headache returned in full force. She dropped to her knees in pain, clutching her head.

"I want to see," The green girl said as the world around Galatea began to spin. She had no idea what was happening, but she knew that she couldn't escape.

She honestly believed that this might be it. Her final moments and she accepted it.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **This chapter was kinda hard to write. They say that being a writer means you have to betray your characters. Well, they're not really my characters but I kinda feel like I betrayed Galatea.**

 **Lucius Funk is a Powergirl villain and Clara and Pauline Lester are just random OC's put in there for flavour. Just thought you'd like to know.**


	12. Chapter 12

****Chapter Twelve****

 ** **Kent Farm****

 ** **Smallville****

 ** **United States****

 ** **15:36 CDT****

 ** **August 18, 2007****

Kara brushed the dirt off of her jeans before she stepped onto the porch and into the farmhouse. She had just finished fixing up the fence that ran along the road as the slats had come loose and some of the posts were broken. She had replaced the ones that needed replacement and re-attached the ones that needed re-attaching. Over-all it had been a rather easy, laid-back day.

"I'm done," she said as she stepped into the living room. "The fence is as good as new. Or at least as close as it can be without being new."

Jonathan Kent lowered his newspaper so that just his eyes were peering over. "Thanks, Kara. That fence has been getting worse and worse since that twister came through last summer."

"Don't mention it."

"Would you like a drink?"

"Nah, I'm okay," she said sitting down. "Is Martha in the kitchen?"

"Yeah, she's baking something."

"Can't smell anything," Kara observed, smelling the air.

"I think she's preparing."

"I look forward to seeing what it is," Kara said.

"So do I," Jonathan agreed. "Though, I look more forward to tasting what it is."

Kara quickly rubbed her forehead as a quick sharp pain shot through it.

"You okay?" Jonathan asked her, lowering the paper onto his lap.

"Just a pain," she said. "Odd considering I don't-" She was cut off mid sentence as another more intense one hit her like a hammer.

"Is something wrong?"

"I don't know," she said clenching her teeth. "I-" She slumped in her chair without another word.

"Martha!" Jonathan called out as he stood up sharply. "Something's wrong with Kara!"

Martha came into the room. "What are you shouting about?"

"Something's wrong with Kara," he repeated, pointing. "She's fainted."

"Oh dear, we'd better call Clark."

"What if we can't get through?"

"We'll have to use the emergency number."

"He said only to use that in emergencies only."

"This might be an emergency," Martha pointed out.

"I hope you're wrong."

* * *

 ** **Unknown Location****

 ** **Unknown Time****

Galatea didn't know where she was, but she definitely wasn't where she had been. Darkness surrounded her like a blanket. No, it was more oppressive than that. As though the darkness was physically pressing down on her. She didn't like it. Not one bit.

What made matters worse was that not only could she not see her own body, she couldn't seem to feel it either. It was almost as though she didn't exist.

Was this death? Was she dead? Was the afterlife just an eternal void of nothing?

"This was unexpected," a voice echoed in the darkness. "I only wanted to read your mind, not enter it."

"Where are you?" Galatea shouted out, her own voice sounding strangely distant

"I am here with you," the voice said. "I've never had a connection this strong before. This is amazing."

"No, it's not," Galatea mumbled uncomfortably. She tried to walk forward, but her limbs were like phantoms in the void. "What do you want?" she shouted out.

"I need to know," the voice said sounding almost confused.

"Who the hell are you and what do you want from me?"

"To know who you are?"

"Who I am? Who are you?"

There was no response to that question. Instead, a world began to form around them, a world that was alien to her.

Galatea stood and stared at the strange scene as it played out in front of her.

" _Come on Kara," a young child's voice shouted from somewhere unseen. "You're so slow."_

" _You go on, I'll catch up with you,"_ _another_ _very young_ _voice_ _responded as_ two children came _into view._

Then a more real voice came from right behind her. "What's going on?"

Turning around, Galatea found herself face to face with Kara. She quickly looked down and was relieved to see her own body instead of nothingness.

"What's going on?" Kara asked again with a glare, jabbing a finger uncomfortably into her clone's sternum. "What have you done to me?"

"I haven't done anything," Galatea said grabbing her hand and pushing it aside. "It was the green girl."

"What green girl? This some kind of trick?"

The one in question spoke as she came into view, almost appearing to fade in from nothing. "Me."

The green-skinned girl's eyes were glowing red giving her a rather menacing appearance. "This was unexpected," she said looking at Kara. "Who are you?"

"Who are you?" Kara asked right back. That's when her attention was drawn to the scene that was currently motionless as though paused in time. "Hold on, this is Argo, my planet. What's going on?" She pushed past Galatea to see the two figures. "That's me and that's." She looked away. "Why?" she questioned, her voice cracking.

Galatea looked from Kara back at the frozen memory. There were two girls, one of which she knew was Kara. The other appeared to be related and at a guess was her sister.

"This is a very powerful memory," the green girl said. "I wanted to see why? I did not know it was one of yours."

Kara looked back at the memory. "That's me," she said pointing. She then confirmed Galatea's suspicion. "And that's my younger sister, Karin."

Kara watched in horror as the scene continued before her eyes.

" _Come on!" Karin said, pulling on her arm. "You're so slow."_

 _Kara didn't fight her and jogged along until they were at their large multi-storey house. The door automatically scanned them and slid open allowing them entrance._

 _A robotic servant hovered over to them. "Welcome home Karin and Kara. Your older sister just arrived minutes before you and is currently in her room. Your father is currently in his study._

" _Thanks, Seigel," Kara said. "I'm off to my room, I have some homework I wanna get done."_

" _No," Karin said, pulling on her arm. "I wanna play outside, you can do homework later!"_

" _Fine, but lets at least put our bags down first," Kara said, pulling off her school bag._

"I had just turned thirteen a few days ago," the real Kara said, unable to take her eyes off what was happening. "My younger sister Karin was eight and my two older sisters were sixteen and twenty. Kayla the oldest didn't live with us though, she left home a year or so ago. She was apparently doing research somewhere, though I didn't know where."

" _Come on," the younger sister urged, pulling Kara back out of the door._

 _They headed into their yard where Karin picked up the Hoverball. "Let's play," she said._

" _Sure, but only until supper," Kara said. "After that, it'll be dark and I really need to get my homework done."_

Kara explained to the two others what was going on in the memory. Her voice was strangely stoic and without emotion. "Hoverball was a fairly simple game. The goal was to get the opponent to miss knocking the ball back. There are also tall pins that each player had to knock the ball between, hitting the pins would cause the ball to go off course, making its exit unpredictable."

 _The memory of Karin served first. She held the hoverball out in front of her and it remained in place as she swung her hand forwards. she never made physical contact, as the ball sensed the approaching extremity and shot forward with appropriate force, bouncing through the pins, then exiting at an odd angle._

 _Kara moved quickly and swung, sending the hoverball back through the pins. It bounced then exited the other side where Karin struggled to knock it back. It went through, shooting out at the other side of where Kara was currently standing where she couldn't knock it back, giving her sister the score which was displayed on the ball._

 _Kara retrieved the hoverball and guided it back to the court before she served, knocking it through the pins towards her younger sister. It ricocheted through them and came out at an angle, but Karin managed to whack it back through. Unfortunately, it came out at a right angle to the court, giving the point to her opponent, which was displayed on the hoverball._

" _No fair," Karin said. "The hoverball's wrong."_

" _It came out at a right angle to the play area, which is unplayable, the point's mine," Kara said, then stuck her tongue out._

" _It's still wrong," the younger sister said as she retrieved the hoverball. "But I'm gonna beat you, even if you do cheat."_

 _Kara shrugged. "Are we playing or are you just gonna moan and complain?"_

 _Karin hit the ball through the pins. Kara knocked it back through towards her younger sister, who almost missed, but managed to return the hoverball._

 _The game went on like this for a few minutes or so before Karin missed the hoverball._

" _I hate this game," she said, knocking the hoverball away._

" _You've only lost two points total," Kara pointed out._

" _I still hate it."_

" _You're such a crybaby."_

" _I am not!" Karin said, stamping her foot. "You cheated."_

" _How did I cheat? You're the one that missed the hoverball."_

" _You still cheated," she said, storming inside._

 _Kara followed her. "Why are you being like this?" she asked. "You were only down by one point."_

" _Don't care," she shouted back as she ran upstairs to her room._

" _Crybaby," Kara whispered under her breath._

The real Kara was stood there with tears running down her face making Galatea feel rather uncomfortable. "Karin often had a tantrum when things stopped going her way. She was the youngest, so she was our parents favourite."

" _Everything alright, Kara?" her father Zor asked as he came down the stairs from his study. "What's wrong with Karin?"_

 _Kara shrugged. "I dunno."_

" _There must be something wrong? She seemed upset."_

" _The game of hoverball wasn't going her way, so she threw a tantrum."_

" _You know she's very competitive," he said, his voice soft and sympathetic._

" _What am I supposed to do? Let her win? That's not fair."_

" _I'm not telling you to let her win," he told her. "Just take it easy on her."_

" _Why should I do that? I wanna win too."_

" _I know, but you know she takes losing badly."_

" _She should grow up."_

" _Kara," he said in a warning tone._

" _Whatever, I'm off to do my homework." She picked up her rucksack from by the door and headed upstairs._

 **"** Can we stop?" the real Kara asked turning away.

"What's even going on?" Galatea asked. "Why is this an important memory? It seems so dull."

Kara glared at her. "Because it's one the last memories I have before Krypton exploded and destroyed everything in its wake. Before the years of hell before we were frozen in the pods before my mother told me that she would see me on the other side. She promised me that I would wake up and we'd be reunited and she didn't keep it."

The memory faded to black as the green girl took a step forward. "I won't make you relive any more memories from that time."

Kara squared off against her. "I don't want to relive any memories, I want this to end. Now!"

The green girl looked at Galatea. "I can't. I need to know some things first."

"Like what?" Galatea demanded.

"I don't know," she answered, sounding almost lost as she faded away into nothing. "But I need to know."

Then a new memory began this time from the inside of a tank.

 _Inside, Galatea stood there motionless, her eyes closed. There was liquid all around her, covering her. The only thing stopping her from suffocating was an oxygen mask that covered her mouth and nose._

 _Then the liquid began to ripple and drain away, revealing her form. Two dark shadowy figures seemed to fade into view outside the tank._

 _Then Galatea took in a deep breath, her eyes opening. One of the figures turned into Dr Hamilton and he looked at her with a warm smile._

 _"Hello," he said. He then paused, looking her right in the eyes, before speaking once more, "Do you understand me?"_

 _Galatea nodded her head_

 _"Do you know who I am?" Dr Hamilton questioned._

 _"You are my creator," Galatea said in a raspy, strained voice._

 _He smiled. "Do you know who you are?"_

 _"I am Galatea."_

 _"Looks like the programming worked," a dark-skinned woman in a lab coat said to him as she faded into view._

The real Galatea could see that Kara didn't know who the woman was, so she explained. "That's Delina Gibson. She worked with my father for a time."

Kara frowned at her. "I'm still confused as to what exactly is going on around here? Who is the green girl and how did she get inside my head?"

Galatea didn't respond. She just looked back at the memory.

 _The memory of Delina asked a question. "What is your function?"_

 _"To follow any and all directives given to me. If that means to kill, then I shall kill." Galatea responded sounding almost robotic._

 _The smile vanished from Hamilton's face. "It's worked a little too well," he mumbled._

 _The woman rested her hand on his shoulder. "Hey, we can fix it," she said quietly._

 _"I hope so Delina."_

 _"Is there something wrong?" Galatea asked her eyes staring with not even a single blink._

 _Hamilton looked right at her. "You are meant to be our hero, Galatea. You are meant to protect us against the_ _Justice L_ _eague, against_ _ _him__ _, against Superman."_

 _"If that is what I am commanded by our superiors, then that is what I shall do."_

 _Hamilton looked distraught. Delina squeezed his shoulder. "It'll be alright," she reassured him._

 _"I'm not sure it will," he responded as he turned away. "We might be unleashing something far worse than Superman on the world._ _Why would she even say that? To kill?_ _"_

" _It's in her programming," Delina told him._

The real Galatea clenched her jaw. She wanted to tell him what was going to happen, she wanted to reach in and fly him away from Cadmus to safety. But she knew it was only a memory. It wasn't real, at least not now. It had been once, as it was something that had happened and she could even remember it.

It was strange now to see how robotic she was right at the start, how empty of a personality, of a _soul_ , she had been.

Galatea turned as she heard the voice of the green girl once more. "So, you are a fake person?"

Galatea felt deflated and angered by the comment. "I'm as real as anyone else," she shouted into the void that was now enveloping them, the memory having faded out.

Kara snorted derisively. "You're a test tube baby grown in a lab. You were programmed like a computer. You're just a cheap knock-off of me."

"Just shut up!" Galatea snapped.

"Hamilton stole my DNA and perverted it into you. Just looking at you makes me sick. You're disgusting. Hamilton's disgusting."

"He's dead," Galatea said staring off into the darkness of the void that surrounded them. "So I guess that's something for you to be happy about."

That took Kara by surprise. "What? He's dead, how? Did you?"

"Don't you even dare accuse me. It was Flag. He'll die first, then I'll kill everyone else who's involved."

"Still eager to sate your bloodlust I see," Kara commented distastefully. "And you wonder why they came after you?"

"What would you do if they killed Superman?"

"Murder is still wrong."

"What if it was Barbara?"

Kara took a step back her eyes wide. "Wait, how do you know about her?"

"You showed her to me through our connection. I know who she is and where she lives."

"Don't you dare threaten her!" Kara snapped.

"Don't worry yourself. I have no interest in the former Batgirl."

"If anything happens to her, I'll-"

"You'll what?" Galatea interrupted. "Kill me? Isn't that what you tried to do on the Watchtower when you electrocuted me with that power conduit?"

"It wouldn't be murder. You can't murder someone without a soul."

"So that's how you would justify it?" Galatea said. "Pretend I'm not really alive, not a person? You may not be familiar with the history of this planet, but throughout history, the dehumanisation of others has always been a way to make it easier to kill those that are different."

Kara clapped with sarcastic derision. "Congratulations, you can recite history. So can a basic computer."

Galatea started to grow frustrated, though a thought did enter her mind. "What about Red Tornado?"

That caught Kara off guard. "What about him?"

"Does he have a soul, or is he just a machine. Would you go up to him and tell him that he is just circuits in the shape of a person?"

"That's different," Kara said. "He's a valued member of the team."

"Oh, so to become a person I would have to join the Justice League?"

"That's never going to happen!" Kara said firmly. "We don't let murderers and killers into the league."

"Whatever," Galatea said turning away from her. "I wouldn't want to join a bunch of hypocrites anyway."

"Hypocrites?" Kara repeated. "The Justice League doesn't kill. I don't see where the hypocrisy is in that statement?"

The green psychic reminded the two of them of her presence as she spoke up, interrupting their argument with a question. "Haven't they?"

Kara looked at her and glared. "No, they haven't."

"So if they killed me, it would not be murder?" the green girl asked as she came into view.

"What?" Kara was confused. "Of course it would. You're sentient."

Galatea muttered under her breath. "So am I."

The green girl continued with her thought. "But they have killed my kind without remorse without even considering whether or not there was a reason we were as we were. They just saw us as mindless creatures so they killed us."

"What are you talking about?" Kara asked.

There wasn't an answer. Instead, the darkness began to coalesce into a strange alien organic-looking corridor. Strange humanoid featureless creatures that had skin that almost looked like that of a jellyfish, except they were a high contrast of white and black.

"That's the Imperium," Kara said unnecessarily. Galatea was well aware of who they were, despite the fact that she just some samples when this was happening. She had been fully briefed on them and had done simulations on how to defeat them.

The scene before them quickly became chaotic. The creatures seemed to panic as the corridor began to shake. Then there was an explosion and the scene followed one of the Imperium aliens as they were blown clear.

That's where it ended as the world turned into a blur and finally faded back into darkness, the two Kryptonians remained stood there, the only things illuminated in the blackness.

"I don't get it," Kara said out loud.

Galatea rolled her eyes. "She's one of them, idiot."

Kara jabbed a finger hard against her chest. "Shut up, you're not helping."

"I think I'm starting to see where I get my anger issues from," Galatea mused.

"I do _not_ have anger issues. I'm just frustrated by all of this. Aren't you?"

Galatea knew that Kara was right. She was frustrated too. She wanted out of this purgatory and to be back in the real world.

But it seemed that their host had no intention of releasing them any time in the immediate future, so it appeared that they would have to let whatever was going to happen, play out.

Both of them knew that at that moment there was nothing else that they could do.


	13. Chapter 13

****Chapter Thirteen****

 ** **Outskirts of Gotham City****

 ** **United States****

 ** **16:44 CDT****

 ** **August 18, 2007****

The Batcuffs came off and fell to the dirt. This both confused and intrigued Selina Kyle considering they were surrounded by trees and not cops.

Unlike him, she was dressed as a civilian. The Justice League had confiscated everything, even from her safe house which she had thought was, well, safe.

She turned around to look at Batman, rubbing her sore wrists. "I don't see any of the boys in blue," she commented.

"There aren't any here," Batman said in a monotone voice.

She wasn't quite buying it. Batman had never just let her go in the past. He had almost always managed to trick her somehow resulting in her temporary incarceration until she figured out a way to escape that is.

This time, however, something felt off.

"It's time to stop playing games Selina," Batman told her. "You'd do more good if you went straight."

"Come on, you know I love the chase."

"No more, Selina. I know how much you've donated anonymously to animal charities. I know how much you've done to help, but stealing for it isn't the answer. But I think we both know that it's just an excuse you tell yourself. You can't help yourself, can you?"

There was something in his tone of voice that caught her by surprise. He had always been serious, but there was something else this time.

"Turn yourself in, do your time."

"I'm not going to do that," she dismissed. "And you know I'm not."

"Do the right thing, Selina, for once in your life." A dark look crossed his face as he reached for his ear communicator. "What?" he asked in annoyance as he turned his back to her.

Catwoman took a step forward, hoping to get some idea as to what was going on.

"What's wrong with her?" Batman asked, before waiting for the response. "Have you contacted J'onn?" She heard him grunt. "I'm on my way."

"What is it?" she asked.

"None of your concern," he said coldly not looking back at her. "Just do us both a favour and go."

She turned away. "Fine, but we'll be seeing each other again, count on it."

There was a flicker of light. When she turned back around, he was gone. She reached out before her head dropped. She loved him, yet had never been able to say it, not in a serious way. Flirting was fine, but there was a point where one had to move past that. Now it was too late and she knew it.

"I'll take what you said into consideration," she said to herself.

* * *

 ** **Watchtower II****

 ** **Earth Orbit****

 ** **16:02 – Station Time****

Superman paced back and forth while J'onn sat by Kara's bedside, his hands held out over her head. No one as of yet knew what was wrong with her.

He had spoken with Martha and Jonathan and the only symptoms were dizziness and a pain in her head shortly before passing out. Now she was practically comatose.

Superman looked around as Batman stepped into the room. "Any updates?" he asked immediately.

"Not yet," Superman said.

"I'm not sure what I can do," Batman said looking down at Kara.

Superman sighed. "I know, I'm just not sure what's happening."

J'onn lowered his hands and stood up.

"Found anything?" Superman asked with both hope and fear.

"It's confusing. I'm not entirely sure what it is that has happened to her. But it's almost like her mind has been pulled away."

"Pulled away?" Superman demanded. "What do you mean? That she's going to die?"

"I'm not sure. From what I can tell, it seems there is more than one mind at work here."

Superman turned away from him. "Galatea, it has to be."

"What I mean is there is more than one besides Kara," J'onn corrected. "I'm not certain but there might be two other minds involved."

"Two?" he asked turning back around. "Is this an attack?"

"I don't know," J'onn said with an unusual, at least for him, hint of frustration. "There is a powerful mind at work here."

"Mind? As in one?" Batman questioned.

"Yes, I believe so. The other mind I am sensing might be like Kara. Caught by a much more powerful entity. I also believe it may be Galatea that has been caught and the entity is using her connection with Kara to do whatever it is it is attempting to do."

"So we're looking for a powerful psychic?" Superman asked.

Batman turned around. "I'll get a list ready of every psychic on record."

He quickly left while Superman moved over to Kara's side. "Is there anything you can do?" he asked J'onn.

"Not until I know what I am dealing with. I will continue to monitor her mind and see if I can figure out what is happening and how. Only then will I risk trying to sever it."

"Do what you can J'onn. But please, hurry."

"I will do my best, Superman."

"Thank you," Superman said with gratitude as J'onn sat back down next to Kara and reached out over her head. His eyes began to glow red while Superman once again began to pace.

* * *

 **Redwood Forest**

 **Outside San Francisco**

 **United States**

 **14:31 - PDT**

The Question and Huntress watched as the helicopter flew overhead and sprayed water across the blaze that was quickly starting to grow out of control.

They had successfully put out the fire at the remains of what had been the vacation home, but the blaze several miles away was proving to be a lot more problematic.

"Why would they burn the forest?" Question asked himself.

"Who are you talking about?" Huntress asked. She was still several steps behind the Question, both literally and figuratively as they made their way towards the remains of the house.

"Task Force X."

"The Suicide Squad?" Huntress asked. "Wait, are you telling me they were here?"

"That black van was them."

"How could you possibly know that?" Huntress questioned him.

"I know what to look for," the Question replied.

As they approached what remained of the old vacation home they were stopped by a Park Ranger and a Fireman, who both stepped in front of them.

"What's your business here?" the ranger asked, eyeing them both up and down, especially the Question. "This area's off limits. Leave, now!"

Huntress didn't like his attitude. "Justice League business," she answered. "This might be connected with some metahumans."

The ranger looked sceptical. "Yeah? Got proof?"

The Question responded to that. "That's why we're here. To investigate."

He shook his head. "I meant about you being Justice League?"

Huntress answered though with more than a hint of sarcasm. "We don't carry ID, sorry."

"I don't recognise either of you," the ranger said as he looked to the fireman for confirmation.

"I don't either," he said, staring at Question. "Where's his face?"

"He's very sensitive about his affliction," Huntress said faking outrage. "He lost his face fighting an evil sorceress that stole faces," she lied while trying to keep a straight face. "He saved many lives and many faces and here you are making fun of him."

To be honest, it sounded better in her head. Nevertheless, it still worked.

The fireman stood down immediately. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make fun of the guy. It's just freaky looking."

The ranger wasn't as convinced. "Seems unlikely to me," he said.

Huntress pushed on. "As unlikely as a man in a red cape flying around without wings? As unlikely as a man made out of a literal nuclear reaction? As unlikely as a guy who flies around with a power ring?"

That convinced him. "Okay, okay, you've made your point," the ranger accepted. "Still, I can't let anyone in. If it is arson, then the cops need to investigate first, so no, I can't let you in."

Huntress was really tempted to knock them both out, but Question had another idea. "Then we will return later." He turned and began to make his way back down the unmarked road to where he had parked his car.

Huntress quickly got in step next to him. She wasn't impressed. "What are you doing?"

"I doubt we would have gotten anything meaningful from investigating the ashes anyway," he responded as he pulled open the driver's side door.

"What's our next step, then?" Huntress asked. "Report in?"

"We find the Cadmus clone."

"Seriously? They could be anywhere by now."

The Question visibly clenched his jaw as he climbed inside. This indicated that he was either deep in thought or annoyed. Or maybe both.

"Galatea is the only one we need to find," he said finally.

"What about Hamilton and that doctor?" She asked getting in the passenger side.

"They're dead."

"How do you know that?" she questioned growing more and more frustrated.

"There were two graves," Question said as he started the ignition.

"What else did you notice?" Huntress asked him.

"There was a trench of scorched earth and what appeared to be the remains of several vaporised trees."

"A bomb?" she questioned as he began to drive.

"No, a Kryptonian."

"You're making a lot of assumptions," she observed.

"They're only assumptions if they're not correct," he said.

"While I'm all for doing things alone, fighting a Kryptonian isn't the way I plan on dying. I really think it's time to call your friends."

"It's not time yet."

"What do you mean it's not time yet? If she's on her own she could be anywhere. She could be in China by now for all we know. Unless you're keeping more secrets from me?"

Question slowed the car to a stop and looked at her with his featureless face.

"You know, you should really not drive with that on," Huntress commented indicating his mask.

He ignored the comment as he responded to her earlier one. "You're right, perhaps it is time to report in."

"Exactly. Let them deal with her. We need a vacation."

Question seemed to slip into his own world. "I still need to find the link between Soder Cola and the increase of gun crime in Midway City," he mumbled to himself. "Hallucinogens or other drugs put in the drink as a test, perhaps?"

Huntress shook her head and rolled her eyes. She reached over into the left inside pocket of his trench-coat and pulled out the earpiece communicator and placed it in her ear.

"Watchtower, come in," she said out loud, while Question continued to sit there mumbling conspiracies to himself.

" _Watchtower here,"_ Came Mister Terrific's voice into her ear. " _This is the Question's communicator, who's speaking?"_

"Huntress," she said.

" _You know I'm not supposed to talk to you, you're not part of the Justice League anymore."_

"Yeah well, this is important. We found Galatea, but it's not good news. According to Question, Task Force X paid her a visit and Hamilton and that doctor may have bit the bullet."

" _What about the clone?"_

"Could be anywhere."

" _Where are you now?"_

"Can't you get a lock on this communicator?"

" _Usually, but I'm having trouble."_

She looked at the Question. "I don't like being tracked," he said with a shrug.

" _If you stay on the line, I should be able to get a lock in a minute or so,"_ Terrific said.

"We can wait," she said, before adding, "I'll narrow it down for you. We're near San Francisco."

" _I'd already narrowed you down to the west coast of America, but that helps. In fact, I have you_ _r_ _location. Do you want to be brought up?"_

"No, just send someone down."

" _I can't at the moment, but I'll report on what you've told me."_

"Good, we'll be staying in the area, Huntress out." She looked to Question. "So, what do you want to do, now?"

"We sit and wait."

"For what?"

The Question didn't answer. Huntress wished she could say that his lack of a response was indicative of something, but at this point, she had given up trying to read him. His mask was probably the most perfect disguise of any hero as it showed literally no emotion. His large trench-coat also helped to cover any cues his body language would give off, making him near unreadable.

Huntress folded her arms and sat back in her seat. He didn't know how close he was getting to getting his ass kicked.

She just didn't know why she hadn't, yet.

* * *

 ** **Watchtower II****

 ** **Earth Orbit****

 ** **17:01 – Station Time (EST)****

Superman stepped into the room where Batman was sat at a computer terminal with a list of names on the screen.

He turned to the Man of Steel. "I've been expecting you," he said.

"What have you found?"

"Nothing," the Dark Knight answered before adding, "But I do have a list of every known telepath and not just on Earth. Now it's a matter of eliminating those from the list that probably aren't responsible."

"So, who have we got?" Superman asked as he stepped up beside him.

"First up, is an easy elimination," Batman said.

Superman read the name. "Aquaman? He's telepathic?"

"To sea life, yes."

"Right, of course. So why even bother having him on the list?"

"Because I gave the computer those parameters. I want to be as broad as possible on the initial search."

Superman looked at the next name. "Who's Black Manchester?"

"Manchester Black," Batman corrected.

"Who is he?" Superman repeated.

"Mostly an unknown at least to the league, though he has come up on my radar a few times. He's a vigilante, but tends to leave those he comes up against dead."

"What's his telepathic ability level?"

"Unknown," Batman said. "His motive for attacking Kara is unknown and without motive, it's unlikely that he's responsible for Kara's condition."

"So he's off the list?"

"No, because we simply don't know. It could be that he came up against Galatea and Kara simply got caught up unintentionally."

"So it could be him?"

"It's possible," Batman conceded before continuing on with the list. "The next is, or rather was Brainwave, but he died some years ago. No indication as of yet whether his son has any abilities and as none of us has ever fought or encountered him I don't know whether his abilities were natural or mechanical. So he's off the list on account of being dead."

Superman read the name underneath. "Captain Comet? Never heard of him."

"Few have. There's next to no information, so I can't even tell you if he actually has telepathic ability or not. It's only a rumour that he has, much like his existence."

"Is he on Earth?"

"Unknown. Chances are he's not. If he exists. It could be that he is just an urban legend."

"Is he a good guy or bad?"

"Supposedly good, but with the amount of information I currently have at hand I don't know."

"So he's unlikely?"

"Yes."

"As is Lilith Clay," Superman said reading the next name.

"Yes, she is unlikely but we cannot rule her out completely."

"Why not?" Superman questioned. "She's on our side."

"Perhaps."

"No perhaps, Bats, she's on our side. I don't think it's her."

"There is also Despero, an alien who John and Shayera encountered off-world, but he is by their account dead. So he is on the probably not list."

Superman physically shivered as he read the next name. "Doctor Destiny."

"No known last location," Batman said.

"He's a good candidate."

"But J'onn is familiar with him," Batman said dismissively. "I believe he would be able to sense his mind immediately."

They both looked around as the doors opened. "Yes, I would," J'onn said as he stepped inside.

"How's Kara?" Superman asked him.

"Unchanged," J'onn replied as he stood beside the man in blue. "Green Arrow is currently watching over her."

Batman continued with the list. "Doctor Psycho is also unlikely. He doesn't have the range."

"He does hate women, though, so he's a good candidate" Superman pointed out.

Batman was sceptical. "Perhaps."

Superman had had enough. "Keep looking, I need to take a break. I'll be with Kara if you need me."

"I understand," Batman said.

"I will aid Batman," J'onn added.

"Thank you," Superman said as he left the room.

He wished he knew who or what was behind Kara's condition. To have no clue as to who was involved was frustrating and worrying. As far as he could tell there was no motive other than the fact she was Justice League, which was motive enough for some.

But then again, why go after her? Why not one of the seven founders? Unless they believed she had information in her head about the future? There was no doubt she had, but could that be the reason or was he making up assumptions?

Superman paused as he saw Mister Terrific walking straight towards him. "Superman, glad I found you," he said. "Got a call from Question. He says he tracked down Galatea, the clone. I thought you'd like to know in person."

Superman perked up immediately. From what J'onn had said, he believed that she was likely involved. "And?" he asked. "Where is she?"

"Was near San Fransisco, but her current location is unknown. She got away, but Task Force X is involved."

Superman felt like he could put his fist through a wall. "I'm going down there to search," he said.

"Need any back-up?"

"Anyone who can fly and has good eyes," Superman responded as he headed towards the teleporter.

* * *

 ** **Unknown Location****

 ** **Unknown Time****

Galatea and Kara continued to watch their lives re-play in front of them. The strangeness and surreality hadn't completely gone but they were starting to get somewhat accustomed to it.

So far they had only seen bits and pieces. For Galatea, it seemed strange to see how robotic and childlike she had been during the early days of her existence.

Right now they were watching the memory of Kara fighting some old woman with her gang.

Kara decided to explain what exactly they were seeing. "That's Granny Goodness and the Female Furies," she said. "I can't remember exactly what they were doing. I think it involved an asteroid or a comet. It wasn't long after this fight I met Darkseid."

The memory faded out as the young Supergirl and Superman were buried under some rubble.

"They took Superman and I managed to rescue him. Not the first time Darkseid took him. The second time was when he warped his mind and made him think he was his son. Superman nearly killed me when he returned to Earth flying Darkseid's flag."

"That was the reason for my creation," Galatea said. "Because Superman couldn't be trusted."

"He can. You'd know that if you knew him," Kara objected. "You on the other hand, actually can't. You have no morals and you don't care about anyone but yourself."

The world began to reform until they were inside the old Cadmus building.

 _The me_ _mory_ _version of_ _Galatea moved through the corridor_ _until she entered a room where Emil Hamilton was stood at a computer terminal._

 _He turned to her._ _"_ _Ahh, Galatea._ _You'll be_ _glad to know that you'll be_ _getting your first assignment soon," Emil said. "Nothing complicated. You'll be spying on someone and reporting_ _in_ _."_

" _That'_ _s_ _all?" Galatea questioned, her shoulders slouching. "Can't I do something more worthwhile?"_

" _This is worthwhile," Hamilton said. "_ _It_ _wi_ _ll prove that you're not only trustworthy but also useful."_

" _Okay, who am I spying on?"_

" _I don't know_ _myself_ _. You'll be getting the briefing this afternoon."_

The memory faded away once again leaving darkness.

Seeing Emil alive and well didn't make Galatea feel happiness or joy, but empty and hollow. She knew it wasn't real, just memories of her past.

She turned to Kara as her progenitor spoke. "This has been fun, but I really should be getting back to the world of the living."

The green alien came into view out of the darkness of the void. "I wish I could."

Galatea rested her hands on her hips. "If that was really the case then you would. There's nothing stopping you."

"No, you don't understand. I'm not sure how to release you."

Kara moved towards her. "What do you mean? Let us go, now!"

"I don't know how," she repeated.

"What do you mean you don't know how?" Galatea demanded, stepping beside Kara.

"Someone's stopping me."

"Who's stopping you?" Galatea questioned, poking at the green girl.

The girl stared at her. "It's you."


	14. Chapter 14

****Chapter**** ** **Fourteen****

 ** **Flying Grayson's Athletics Club****

 ** **Gateway City****

 ** **United States****

 ** **1** **5** **:** **0** **3** **– PDT****

 ** **August 18, 2007****

Cassie Sandsmark stood outside of the athletics club. A few days ago Dick Grayson had offered her a job and she was here to see if he would follow through with that offer.

She stepped forward and pushed the door open finding someone she wasn't expecting behind the front desk. It was Anaya, the school "It Girl" or so she liked to believe. Anaya was more of a "Bitch Girl" thinking that she was the perfect being, far above everyone else.

Unfortunately, she was also one of the few that knew that Cassie wasn't exactly normal. Shoving Anaya through a bathroom stall was how Cassie had discovered something was wrong in the first place.

Anaya and her friends were also present on her final day at working at Enzo's Diner, where Aresia had put Cassie through the wall and sought to kill her and her mother.

Cassie stepped up to the front desk knowing that things were already not going to plan. Not at all.

As expected, Anaya looked up from her phone and froze, her eyes going wide.

Cassie pushed on. "I'm here to speak with the owner, Mr Grayson."

Anaya said nothing. She just continued to stare as though she was facing down some horrifying creature.

Unable to help herself, Cassie waved her hand in front of her face. Anaya practically jumped backwards in response, her eyes growing wider.

Cassie would have felt bad for her if she hadn't tried her best to make high school a living hell. Instead, she found her reaction rather funny.

"I need to speak with the manager," Cassie repeated. When Anaya made no move to do anything, Cassie was more forceful. "Now, please. He's expecting me."

With a few blinks, Anaya reached for the phone on the desk and dialled the number "1" then waited. After a few moments, she spoke in a shaky voice. "Um, Mr Grayson, Cassie Sandsmark is here to see you."

" _That's great, I'll be down in a moment,"_ Cassie heard the reply over the phone from where she stood.

Anaya put the phone down quickly. "He'll be down in a minute," she repeated before she gripped the side of the front desk, her eyes never leaving the blonde.

It was actually less than a minute when Dick Grayson stepped into the foyer. "Glad to see you came," he said. "I'm guessing you're here for the job?"

"Yeah," Cassi said as she looked right past him at Anaya who paled at the news. "I'm here for the job."

"I'll show you around," Dick said. "First though, I'll introduce you to Anaya. She works the afternoon on Saturday, we're closed on Sundays."

"Hello, Anaya." Cassi said finding this situation more and more funny.

"Uh, yeah. Hello," Anaya replied nervously.

Dick looked at Anaya with a confused frown before he gestured to Cassi. "Follow me."

The two of them moved away from the front desk and down a hallway. "We have two squash courts and showers in the changing rooms. They're separated by gender. I don't expect you to ever go into the male changing rooms, if anything happens, I'm usually on the premises."

"What if you're not?"

"I have another employee, Vic. He's here during the week."

"When do you want me in?" she asked as they stopped outside the weights room of the gymnasium where people were working out.

"You have to go back to school in September, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah, it's my final year."

"You can work the week until you go back if you want? Then move to weekends with Anaya."

"Sounds good," Cassi said, before looking back down the hall towards the foyer. "I need to tell you something," she said.

"What?"

"In private. It's about my situation."

"This is not a good place for privacy," he pointed out. "But we have a staff room. Follow me."

He led the way back to the foyer section where they both stepped through into a room behind the front desk, Anaya locking eyes with Cassi as they moved past.

Dick shut the door behind them and made his way over to the small table and sat down, she took the seat opposite.

"Keep your voice down," he said. "What's up?"

Cassie decided to come right out with it. "Anaya knows."

That surprised him. "What?"

"So do her friends."

"How? Did you tell them? Do you know them?"

"I'm not her friend, so no, I didn't tell them. I kinda threw her through a toilet cubicle at school."

He didn't look impressed. "You can't do that kind of thing."

"I didn't know it was going to happen. This was before I knew anything was up."

"So she knows from that," he said not looking happy. "That explains her reaction earlier."

"She and her friends were also in the diner when Aresia came and punched me through the wall."

"This is not good," he said tapping the table with his knuckles. "I'm hoping you're going to tell me that they can be trusted, but knowing you threw her through a cubicle means probably not."

"She's the leader of the school Bitch Squad. She also dates the biggest dumbest Jock in school."

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "If I'd known, I wouldn't have hired her. This does complicate things and not a little, a lot."

"If it's a problem, then you don't have to hire me," Cassie said.

He shook his head. "No. What I'm going to do is make sure neither of you are on the same shift. That is if you still want the job?"

"I still want it," Cassie assured him. "Name the day and I'll be here."

"Monday. I'll let Kori and Vic help you settle in."

"What's the rate?"

"Fourteen bucks an hour."

"Better than my old job."

"So that's a yes?"

"It's a yes," Cassie confirmed.

"Get here for One in the afternoon. There's no uniform so just dress casual. Just don't wear anything edgy or inappropriate."

"Understood and thanks." Cassie stood up. "I'll see you on Monday."

"On Monday," he confirmed.

* * *

 **Redwood Forest**

 **Outside San Francisco**

 **United States**

 **15:09 – PDT**

Superman landed by Question and Huntress and immediately began asking questions. "What do you know?"

The Question answered. "Task Force X was here. It seems they fought with Galatea."

Huntress added. "He thinks Hamilton and that doctor chick bit the dust."

Superman glanced back towards the trees. "Alright, some other heroes are coming down soon. We need them to organise a search pattern."

"It's unlikely she's still in the area," Question told him.

Superman disagreed. "She has to be. I'm heading out. When others come, get them into the air as soon as you can. I'm taking the north." With that, he shot up into the sky and out of sight.

Huntress leant against the car. "Well he certainly knows what he's doing," she commented sarcastically.

"He's worried about something," the Question said.

"We could ask the others when they come down?"

"No, we've been here too long already." He got into the car.

"Aren't we supposed to wait for the others to arrive?"

"And do what? Tell them to get into the air as Superman instructed? They certainly don't need us to tell them that."

"Then what are we doing?"

"We are going to find out where that black van went."

Huntress got into the passenger side. "So, you're going to disobey orders?"

"Reinterpretation," he answered as he started the car and put it in gear. "Besides, we have more important things to do."

He accelerated down the road while Huntress stared at the plumes of ashen smoke rising from the forest behind them. She wondered how much searching would be going on when that inferno clearly needed more immediate attention?

But that wasn't any of her business. The two of them had other things they needed to focus on.

* * *

 ** **Unknown Location****

 ** **Unknown Time****

"What do you mean it's me?" Galatea questioned. "I'm not telepathic, I can't do the crazy mind stuff that you can clearly do."

The green girl or rather Imperium Martian's response only served to frustrate Galatea further. "That's true. You can't."

"Then how am I stopping us from getting out of this place?"

"I don't know."

Kara interjected. "You'd better know. You pulled us into this, you'd better get us out."

The Martian turned away from them and faded away.

Galatea glared at Kara. "Great, you scared her off."

"Me? This is your fault. You're somehow keeping us here!" Kara accused.

"My fault? I'm not doing anything. I'm as much a prisoner as you are."

Then the world around them began to twist as shapes formed. First a room, then an echo of Galatea and Hamilton. This was a recent memory. A very recent memory.

" _Are you okay?"_ _Hamilton asked._ _"You seem a little depressed?"_

" _Me?" she said, glancing at him. "Nah, I'm fine."_

" _Are you sure?"_

" _I guess. Just been thinking of stuff."_

" _What_ _do you mean by_ _stuff?"_

" _Who I am and what I've done."_

" _What you've done?"_ _he repeated._

" _Yeah, what I've done. What I did, the people who are dead because of me."_

" _You did it because they told you to. You were following their orders."_

" _I did it because I enjoyed it, dad," she confided in him. "I liked the fact that I had so much power over them and there was nothing they could do. They were powerless, defenceless, pathetic."_

" _Tea, it isn't your fault."_

" _It is my fault. I'm_ _the one that's_ _pathetic."_

" _Tea, you're not pathetic."_

" _Yes I am."_

" _No you're not,"_ _he said more forcefully. He then asked a question._ _"Do you regret what you did?"_

 _She thought for a moment._ _"Yes,"_ _she answered._

" _Do you want to change things?"_

" _Yeah, I do, but I don't know how."_

" _Hard work and a lot of it. You had a rocky start, but you're your own person now. You're not a tool, you're not a killer."_

" _I_ _am_ _a killer, though._ _I've actually killed people._ _"_

" _No, Cadmus were the killers."_

" _We were both part of Cadmus. Pretend all you want, dad, but I murdered people and at the time I enjoyed it, I thought it was fun."_

 _He looked at her in shock_ _which made her feel worse_ _._ _"You don't mean that. How can you find it fun?"_

" _You're not listening to me. I found it fun, past_ _-_ _tense. I don't find it fun now."_

" _I can't believe you would ever find it fun, Tea. Maybe you tell yourself that, but I know that deep down that you always hated it."_

" _But I didn't, dad and that's the problem,"_ _she said in frustration._

" _I can see that it's tearing you up, that you really regret it. That tells me that something."_

" _What does it tell you? People don't change, dad, not this much."_

" _And that's what you're scared of. That you haven't changed, that you're the same as you were back then?"_

" _Maybe. I don't know."_

" _Tea, maybe you did enjoy it and even if you did I know for a fact that you've changed. The very fact you're stood here dwelling on it proves to me that whatever you were then, you aren't that any longer."_

" _Maybe."_

 _Emil squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. "You are my daughter and I'm proud of you. You have the power within you to change the world for the better. I feel it deep down that this is your calling, Tea."_

" _Maybe," she said for the third time._

" _Not maybe, I know. We might be in hiding now, but it won't be like that forever. One day the world will see you as the good person you truly are."_

" _They'll see me as a murdere_ _r_ _, dad. People don't care_ _about_ _what good you've done today, they only care about the evil you did yesterday."_

" _But you can change that view, make people trust you."_

" _Like Superman did after Darkseid?"_

 _Emil looked back out of the window and rocked back on his heels_ _before he_ _answered._ _"Superman is a different story entirely. You can be better than him,_ _stronger than him._ _I_ _t's within you."_

" _But he's been basking in yellow sunlight his whole life. He's attuned his whole body to it. I'm just a copy of Supergirl."_

" _That might be true regarding Superman, but you aren't an exact copy."_

 _Galatea turned from the window. "What do you mean?"_

" _All attempts at an exact duplication failed. We had to make modifications."_

 _She looked down at her hands._ _"Pity one of them wasn't removing Kryptonite as a weakness."_

" _Oh, we tried that, but it resulted in an instability in the genome. You would have ended up like Bizarro."_

" _So, if you remove the Kryptonite weakness, it makes us into zombies?"_

" _It was a side effect," Emil told her._

" _And these modifications. What are they?"_

" _You can absorb sunlight_ _at a slightly faster rate_ _." Emil looked down_ _at the floor,_ _closing his eyes_ _. "There's also some other alien DNA inside you."_

" _Alien?" Galatea asked, both intrigued and slightly disconcerted. "I'm guessing other than Kryptonian?"_

" _Yes. We needed something to stabilize your genetics. The cloning process doesn't work properly on Kryptonians_ _._ _I had heard rumblings that someone had figured it out before we found ourselves on the run, but nothing came of it._ _"_

" _What kind of alien_ _DNA_ _are we talking about_ _?"_

" _Cadmus had some genetic data from one of the aliens that attacked a few years ago, the Imperium_ _they were called_ _. Rumour had it that they had captured one, but it was only rumoured,_ _at least at first._ _Turns out they actually did_ _. We combined a small amount of that genetic data with yours."_

" _You mean those shapeshifting gloop monsters?" Now she was really feeling disconcerted._

" _You don't have any of their abilities or weaknesses. We only used a small amount to stabilise you so that you didn't die in the tank."_

The memory faded and Galatea finally understood. "Hold on, so you're the gloop monster that they took the DNA from?"

The Martian came back into view and walked over to them. "Yes," she said as another memory played out. This one wasn't from either Kara or Galatea but instead from the green girl herself, with what looked a lot like one of the Imperium drones, but with actual facial features and deep red eyes.

Stood there was a woman in a lab coat. From behind Hamilton walked into view and stood beside her.

 _The woman spoke. "So you think you can take DNA from this thing and splice it into Kryptonian DNA?"_

 _Hamilton nodded. "I have looked over the results you gave me and I think that this creature's genome is malleable enough that we can use it to fix the genetic deterioration we've been having."_

" _Is it like Bizarro?"_

" _No, that only happens when we try to remove the issue with Kryptonite. No, this is more of her cells collapsing resulting in death."_

" _Well, as long as I'm helping you, I want something in return," the woman said._

" _What?"_

 _The woman looked at the alien girl. "I need your help in seeing where her changes are going to take her."_

" _The creature?" he asked also looking her._

" _We're calling her a White Martian to make it easier, but yeah. She's what I need help with. Her genome seems to be resetting itself to how it would have been before her race was taken and altered by the Imperium."_

" _The tentacle creature?"_

" _Right," the woman confirmed. "For the first few months after the Justice League defeated them, we had to keep the thing incubated because it was dying. We were trying to figure out a way keep it alive without the Imperium when it started to recover."_

Hamilton looked right at the White Martian. " _I'll do what I can," he said before asking, "Is it conscious?"_

 _"Honestly, we're not sure. At least not in the way we are. We don't even know if it can understand our language."_

The memory faded away at that point and Kara was at a loss. "So those things the Imperium controlled weren't just drones?"

"Apparently not," Galatea answered.

"But that means you're not an exact clone."

"No," Galatea agreed. "But I'm so close I might as well be."

"But then if you have some of her genetic information and you're somehow keeping us here then that means you must be partially telepathic, right?"

"No, it doesn't," Galatea dismissed.

"So then how do you explain the link between us?" Kara questioned.

"I don't know. Now shut up while I concentrate. If it is me, then I should be able to get us out of this."

* * *

 **Redwood Forest**

 **Outside San Francisco**

 **United States**

 ** **1** **5** **:** **17** **\- PDT****

Zatanna held up her hands and chanted. "Emalf hsiugnitxe, enogeb erif." A dozen or more of the trees and hedges in front of her stopped burning and was replaced by thick black smoke that not only blocked her view but made her cough.

While they had initially been called to help track down Galatea, it was clear that the fire that was spreading through the national park at surprising speed needed attention first.

Apart from Ice who seemed to almost be made for putting out the fire with chilling streams of ice, Zatanna herself was the one that was making good headway.

Ice, however, had to keep stopping. She was a little susceptible to the dry air and heat and Zatanna herself was starting to get tired.

She stopped as she watched Wonder Woman fly over carrying what was known as the water bladder. It was essentially a giant refillable semi-inflatable device made specifically for heavy fliers like Wonder Woman or Superman. Its purpose was to douse fires like this one. Only the fire raging here was quickly becoming far bigger than they could contain.

As for Superman? He was in the area, but he was entirely focused on finding Galatea. None of them had seen him apart from being a blue and red streak to the north.

This had caused the firefighters they were coordinating with to question what he was doing and the only answer they could give was that he was looking for someone.

It was no secret that he really cared for Kara. When she had gone to stay in the future he had been a little depressed. He had hidden it well, but everyone knew. She was the only connection he had with his own people and he saw her not really as a cousin but more as a little sister.

Kara was in trouble and Superman would do everything in his power to help her.

Zatanna put her focus back into the flames before her and with great effort, she continued on with putting it out.

* * *

 ** **Watchtower II****

 ** **Earth Orbit****

 ** **1**** ** **7**** ** **:**** ** **3**** ** **2 – Station Time (EST)****

J'onn once again sat by Kara's side, his eyes glowing a deep red as he tried to see who or what it was that had taken her mind. Unfortunately, he was having no luck.

Green Arrow was here and he looked worried. The pacing didn't help.

Finally, the archer's meanderings began to wear on his nerves. "Green Arrow, I am going to have to ask you to stop pacing."

"Sorry," he apologized. "I just don't like seeing the kid like this."

"Then perhaps you should go do something else." J'onn knew how callous he sounded, but right then he needed to concentrate if he wanted to help Kara.

"You're right," the archer said, nodding slowly. "Do what you can."

He made his way over to the door and paused, looking back. "I'll be on the station if you need help."

"Understood," J'onn accepted.

With Green Arrow gone, J'onn focused back onto Kara and desperately tried to figure out both what had happened and hot to repair it.

The fact of the matter was that he was at the wrong end of things. He had to find the source, the one that was behind Kara's current condition.

His eyes dimmed and he stood up. He knew what had to be done, but there was a great risk to Kara in doing so as it involved moving her.

J'onn believed that it might be possible to use Kara herself as a compass. The issue with that was that she would have to be disconnected from the monitoring equipment.

Or would she?

It occurred to J'onn that they could simply transfer her and the equipment to a Javelin. It would take some time but it was possible.

He decided to contact Superman and tell him about his plan.

He ascended up through the ceiling and made a straight line to the Watchtower monitor nest where he found Mister Terrific who was currently observing the fire.

He looked around. "Hey, J'onn."

"I need you to contact Superman."

"He's not being very talkative at the moment. I've been trying to get him to help with putting out the forest fire, but he's ignoring me."

"I believe I have something that will get his attention."

"What?"

"I believe I may be able to track whoever or whatever has affected Kara."

"How?"

"Using her mind as a compass," J'onn explained.

"Well, I'll try and call him again but no guarantee he'll respond. Keeps telling me he's busy."

"He cares about Kara a lot," J'onn said. "She is the only connection he has to his people."

"You're right," Terrific accepted. "I'll call him now." He pressed down a button on his console. "Superman, I know you don't want to talk, but-"

" _I'm busy,"_ Superman interrupted. _"She's somewhere in this forest and I need to find her without any more distractions."_

J'onn made his voice heard. "Superman, I may have a way of finding the source of the attack on Kara's mind."

" _I'm listening."_

"I believe I may be able to use Kara's mind itself as a sort of tracking device or compass."

" _Okay, get on it and contact me when you've found out where they are. In the meantime, I'll keep looking."_

"It requires putting Kara on a Javelin. The closer she is to the source I believe the stronger the psychic link which I may be able, as I have said, track."

There was a pause before Superman spoke. " _Sounds too dangerous, J'onn."_

"It is far less dangerous than leaving her as she is. The longer she is left in the state the more damage that may be done to her mind."

" _Okay, do it,"_ Superman accepted. _"But I want to be with you."_

"Of course, Superman. I will have Batman fly the Javelin."

" _You won't be doing it?"_

"No, I need to keep my focus on Kara's mind."

" _Okay, get here as soon as you can. And thanks J'onn."_

The connection went dead and J'onn turned to leave. As he moved away from the nest he called back to Terrific. "Tell Batman and Green Arrow to meet me in Kara's medbay room to help move her and inform Batman that I want him to fly the Javelin."

"They'll be there by the time you arrive."


	15. Chapter 15

****A/N I was intending on keeping my Wednesday and Saturday upload schedule which I've started to break as of late. I did do 2 uploads last weekend, so there's that. I fell a little behind on editing this week because I decided it would be a good idea to build the Watchtower in Blender in 3d. That's out of the way now, so I managed to edit what is the first chapter in a series of rather complicated chapters. I'm ahead in writing, quite a way ahead. Currently on chapter 25, with 16-24 unedited. This means that I should be able to continue keeping a fairly consistent upload schedule given I don't have any more self-imposed distractions and/or until I catch myself up.****

* * *

 ** **Chapter**** ** **F**** ** **ifteen****

 **Redwood Forest**

 **Outside San Francisco**

 **United States**

 **15:39 – PDT**

 ** **August 18, 2007****

The Javelin piloted by Batman descended down into the atmosphere, the friction causing a soft fiery glow. Soon it dissipated as they slowed down high in the sky over California.

Behind the pilot lay a stretcher which was occupied by the unconscious Kara who was wired up to various instruments. To her side sat J'onn, his eyes glowing a dim red as he tried to locate the source of whatever powerful mind was at work.

After a minute or so they arrived at where Superman was waiting. He flew over as the door opened and entered the Javelin.

Almost immediately he was at Kara's side. "Can you sense whoever it is?" he questioned J'onn.

The Martian held out a hand and pointed. "I believe the source lay in that direction. Perhaps two-hundred and fifty kilometres."

"One hundred and fifty odd miles," Batman said as he closed the hatch. "Not that far considering how fast Galatea can fly." He began to accelerate in the direction that J'onn had indicated but kept their speed below three hundred mph in case J'onn had any updates

J'onn lowered his hand. "I shall tell you when to slow down. For now, keep this heading."

Batman did as instructed, heading eastwards. "Looks like the source might be in Death Valley," he commented.

J'onn focused on Kara's mind. The closer they got, the stronger he felt her presence as though her consciousness was slowly returning to her own body.

He also began to sense a familiarity with how the unknown mind worked, as though it was not too dissimilar to that of a Martian. This gave him a sense of hope, one that he had not had since his people had fallen all those centuries ago.

Not since his people had been alive had he felt a mind like this, but even so, it still felt alien. The stranger's mind was close enough to that of a Martian that it could fool him if he wasn't paying attention.

Then he sensed her fully. Galatea. She was definitely in there with Kara's and the unknown's mind. But something was not right. He verbalised this with the others. "It seems that their minds have become entangled."

Superman was both confused and worried by that statement. "What does that mean?"

"It means that the unknown entity has gone too deep, well beyond his or her skill limit. Their minds have become knotted around each other like an old cable found in a drawer."

"Can it be undone?" Superman questioned. "Can you fix it J'onn?"

"I believe so, yes, but it will take some time. We will need to find them, first."

Superman stepped up beside Batman. "Go faster," he commanded.

* * *

 ** **Unknown Location****

 ** **Unknown Time****

Kara and Galatea were becoming increasingly agitated. The so-called White Martian had disappeared leaving the two to argue among themselves.

Interestingly, it was Kara that was on the offensive, Galatea on the defensive as the former Supergirl let her feelings be known.

"You're a killer, a psycho. You have no morals and you don't care about anybody except yourself," Kara admonished.

Galatea wished that she could deny it. The truth was that Kara was accusing her of the things she knew were true. Even now she was still a killer after vaporising Emil's killers.

The truth was that she held little remorse for their deaths and she intended on finding Flag and anyone else involved and she would destroy them.

As it turned out, Kara was able to pick up on her thoughts. "I can hear you," she said clenching her fists. "I can feel your want for bloodlust. You're violent, you're dangerous and you need to be controlled."

"They killed my father," Galatea spat.

"There are other ways of dealing with it, but you're such a psychopath that you won't even entertain them."

Galatea's response shut her up at least for a short while. "I get my genes from you, so I guess that means that deep down you must be the same way. A psychopath."

Kara turned away and began to look around while Galatea stood there feeling both angry and frustrated. She tried not to think, but she could feel Kara's feelings of hate and frustration radiating off of her.

Galatea was certain that Kara could feel the same coming from her as well. This was certainly not how the clone had planned on being taken down. She had imagined it would be missiles full of Kryptonite, not being trapped in her own mind with her worst enemy.

What made things worse is that she knew that Kara was thinking the same thing, about being trapped with her worst enemy, someone that she saw as a perversion of herself.

Kara turned to face her. "You feel that?"

"What?" Kara then asked herself in return.

"Another presence," Galatea said.

"Yeah, another presence," Kara confirmed.

Galatea looked around to see if she could see the White Martian. Sure enough, she appeared, but she could tell that was not who Kara was sensing. It was a fourth mind that was gently caressing theirs.

"J'onn," Galatea uttered.

"He's nearby, I can sense him," Kara finished.

The clone could sense him too, but she didn't say anything. She didn't need to. If J'onn was nearby then that meant that getting out of this hellish mental prison might be a reality.

The White Martian seemed apprehensive. "The Green Martian is here," she uttered as she made her way directly to Galatea then stopped. "When we are separated, this will not end the way he thinks it will. Your minds are too alike."

There was something about the way she said it that unsettled the two twins and also deeply offended them. In their own minds they were nothing alike, but still, deep down they knew it was true and they hated that fact.

* * *

 **Death Valley**

 **United States**

 **15:58 – PDT**

"Visual contact," Batman reported as he slowed the Javelin down until it hovered over the two bodies that were lain on the hard rocks, cast in shadow by an overhang from a larger mesa that had been carved by the harsh dust in the wind. One was green with red hair and the other was blonde wearing a blouse and jeans.

Superman immediately ran for the hatch. He only stopped when J'onn uncharacteristically shouted after him. "Stop, do not do anything!"

"They're hurting Kara!" Superman shouted back.

"Doing anything to either of them could harm Kara further," J'onn reasoned. "Allow me to go. You stay here by her side."

Superman clenched his jaw. He was the type that liked to be the one to solve the problem, not have to sit idly by and watch. He felt useless and it was a feeling that he had always hated.

"Go help her," Superman said, rushing back over to her side.

J'onn didn't bother to head to the hatch and instead phased through the bottom of the Javelin leaving Superman by Kara's side.

"It's going to be okay," he said to her. "J'onn is an expert at this kind of thing. You'll be awake again in no-time.

Superman felt the Javelin begin to descend and Batman confirmed it. "I'm going to park us near J'onn," the Dark Knight explained.

The Javelin gently touched down roughly fifty metres from the where J'onnknelt by the two unconscious forms.

It didn't take long for Superman to start feeling agitated again. J'onn remained knelt, motionless and it felt like nothing was happening, that no progress was being made.

He looked up as Batman got up out of the pilot's seat and made his way back to him. The Dark Knight said nothing but offered his support in his own way.

It wasn't until Superman saw her hand twitch that he started to feel some relief and some hope.

* * *

 ** **Unknown Location****

 ** **Unknown Time****

J'onn J'onzz, or rather his mind, moved through the darkness, untangling the tendrils within that blocked his path.

His consciousness wandered through the shared conjured mind-scape of the three others that dwelt in it. Two he knew about, Kara and Galatea. The third was a mystery and he dare not hope that they were one of his own kind.

He knew that thought would only lead to disappointment and at that exact moment he knew that he had to focus on freeing the three minds from the prison they themselves had created.

Seeking them out was proving to be a challenge. He could easily sense them, but their location and direction were confused.

All he needed was a marker, something to focus on. He got his wish.

He could feel Kara's mind trying to reach out to him. He followed it, trying to find the source. Again, it was proving difficult but at least this time he had some semblance of an idea of where to go.

Following the trail of Kara's mind, he finally arrived at where the two Kryptonians were stood, surrounded by the same darkness he had seen since he had first entered.

Kara was happy to see him. "J'onn," she called out. "Finally, we're going to get out of this."

Galatea was not quite so pleased, though she refrained from speaking.

J'onn decided to start making inquiries into what exactly was going on. "Superman, Batman and I have found where Galatea and the unknown Psychic are located."

"Good," Kara said. "You can finally put an end to this."

Another voice entered the fray. "So you are the Green Martian," the voice said as a young woman appeared, one that matched the description of the one that lay unconscious by Galatea's side in the real world.

J'onn turned to her. He could sense the similarity in her mind to that of a Martian, but there was something else, something alien to him, yet also familiar and dangerous. It was very unnerving.

J'onn made his voice heard. "Who are you?" he said, asking the first question before quickly following it up with a second. "Why have you taken these two minds hostage?"

"I only wanted to take a look," she said, casting her eyes towards Galatea. "But something went wrong."

"Wrong?" he repeated. "You tried something beyond your skill level and it caused your minds to become locked." The stranger said nothing in response which only made J'onn more curious. "What was the purpose of this? Why bring Kara into it?"

"She was a mistake," The green-skinned young woman replied. "I didn't know the two of them were connected."

"I am here to fix your mistake," J'onn explained to her. "It will take some time, but I will undo all you have done."

It was time to fix this and while J'onn had the urge to continue on with this conversation, he knew that she would still be there in the real world and that he could not delay any longer.

He focused on their minds, trying to separate them and reverse whatever damage may have been done to them. It would not be easy and it had been a long time since he had last faced such a challenge, but he was definitely up for it.

* * *

 ** **Death Valley****

 **United States**

 **16:18 – PDT**

Superman was becoming impatient. He had begun to pace back and forth inside the Javelin's cabin which was starting to wear on Batman's nerves.

Finally, the Dark Knight said something. "J'onn is doing his best, Clark. Sit down and stop wearing a hole in the carpet."

Superman turned to him with a slight scowl, which quickly disappeared, turning into a frown. "I'm worried, Bruce. What if something goes wrong?"

"Just focus on Kara. When she awakes, she might need a familiar face."

Superman sat himself down, accepting the logic. "You're right. I need to be ready."

He gripped Kara's hand and waited. The year she had been in the future had been tough. She had been his connection with his own people and with her gone, he felt that it had been severed.

It also hadn't helped that he felt guilty. That somehow he had driven her away, that he had been too imposing on her life, too restrictive. That all the rules he had laid down over the years had resulted in her remaining behind or perhaps more accurately remaining forward in the distant future.

The truth was that he loved her like a sister. Seeing her in a practically comatose state hurt and it hurt a lot.

That feeling of hurt turned to one of joy when Kara's eyes drifted open. Her features quickly turned to one of shock and confusion as she looked up at him.

"It's okay, Kara," he tried to reassure her, but she only grew more upset.

She tried to sit up, but Superman didn't let her. "Easy Kara," he said resting his hands on her shoulders. "Just take it easy."

Kara spoke as she laid back down. "You need to get out there."

That confused him. "Why?"

"When the other two wake up, J'onn might need help."

Superman understood. "You're right." He looked over at Batman. "Can you look after Kara while I help J'onn?"

"Of course," Batman agreed immediately without question.

Without wasting any time, Superman flew out of the hatch and landed next to where J'onn was sat cross-legged, his eyes glowing a deep red.

He sat there for a minute or so, expecting either the green girl or Galatea to awaken at any moment.

Then just as the green girl began to awaken, he heard a noise coming from the Javelin. He looked around to see Kara stood at the hatchway.

Making a quick decision, he flew back over to her. "Kara, what are you doing, you shouldn't be getting up yet."

Kara pointed. "Galatea's woken up and she's attacking J'onn."

Superman looked around only to get sucker punched hard in the back of the head. Hard.

He rolled forward and face planted into the side of a nearby mesa over fifty metres away, the attack had taken him completely by surprise and as such it took him time to even realise what had happened.

By the time he had recovered and turned around, Kara was gone. He flew quickly over to the Javelin and looked inside finding Batman unconscious on the floor.

He rushed over and knelt by his side. "Bruce, are you alright?"

There was no immediate response but after a gentle shake, he began to stir.

"She attacked me," Batman slurred as he slowly sat up.

"Kara?" Superman questioned. "Why?"

Batman waved him away as he tried to help him up. "Go check on J'onn. Something's not right."

"Kara wouldn't attack you," Superman said, more trying to convince himself then Batman.

"No, Kara wouldn't," Batman replied, making Superman's heart skip a beat.

Without another word, the Man of Steel turned and flew out of the side of the Javelin to find J'onn and Galatea stood talking. Both looked rather distressed and the clone looked close to tears.

His heart began to pound heavily in his chest. He dared not believe what his brain was telling him had happened. It couldn't happen, not to Kara, not like this. He did not want to believe it, but it was the only thing that made sense.

No. He refused to believe it. This was some kind of trick, it had to be. But then why would Kara join in and attack Batman, unless she had been mind controlled?

Yes, that had to be it. That was the only explanation. It had to be because the other option was too horrifying.

Superman approached slowly, hoping that his worst fears would somehow be dashed.

They weren't.

Galatea looked at him with a genuine fear in her eyes. Not fear of him, though, fear over what had happened.

J'onn stepped in front as if to shield her. But it wasn't necessary, Superman had no intention of fighting or attacking her.

What J'onn said only proved Superman's fear. "Something has happened that I did not anticipate," he said, casting his red eyes downwards. "I made a mistake."

"What kind of mistake?" Superman asked, despite already knowing the answer.

"Their minds had become entangled," J'onn continued, trying to explain. "Somehow their minds were swapped." He stepped to the side revealing Galatea who was staring down at her feet. "This is Kara."

Despite having already figured it out due to "Kara" attacking Batman and himself, the confirmation made his head spin. He couldn't even imagine how Kara was feeling.

"Is there a way to fix it?" Superman asked.

"I do not know," came J'onn's unwanted reply. "We need to get her up to the Watchtower. We do not know what affect this will have on her."

Superman rose high up into the air. "Then go. Make sure she's okay."

"Where are you going?" J'onn questioned.

"I need to find Galatea."

Batman's voice came from the hatchway of the Javelin. "Don't be stupid. She could be anywhere by now considering how fast she can fly."

Superman turned to face him. "What about the other girl?" he asked.

"We don't know enough," Batman answered. "We can't have you flying around looking for people you might never find. We have the key to finding them in the clone body's mind."

"The mental connection," Superman realised.

J'onn added. "The clone body is the source."

Superman lowered himself down and moved slowly in front of Kara. She looked up at him and he offered a sympathetic smile.

"We'll figure this out," he promised her. "We will find a way to get your body back."

He knew that he shouldn't make promises, but this was one that he had to keep. For Kara's sake.


	16. Chapter 16

**Sorry for the fortnite break. It wasn't intended to not post for 2 weeks it just sort of happened.**

* * *

 **Chapter Sixteen**

 **Redwood Forest**

 **Outside San Francisco**

 **United States**

 **17:40 – PDT**

 **August 18, 2007**

It was like looking through the gates of Tartarus and she should know as she had been through them before and the similarity was uncanny.

Wonder Woman had thought they would have had the fire under control by now and while they were managing to slow it down, it was spreading fast.

At one point they had been doing rather well and that was down to Zatanna. Her ability to conjure large amounts of water to suffocate the flames had been invaluable.

Unfortunately, almost thirty minutes ago she had collapsed from exhaustion.

The real heroes in all of this were the emergency services, the fire departments in particular. Brave souls who put their lives in very real danger to stop the blaze before it did any more damage.

Again, it was proving difficult. Something had to be done and quickly.

Taking the initiative, she had coordinated the heavy hitters and the fire departments. It was decided that if they could clear out the trees to the east of the blaze, they could create a separation, slowing the fire's spread in that direction.

But for this, she would need Superman. There were a lot of big trees along the ridge they were going to be clearing and even the likes of Big Barda and Captain Atom would struggle to clear it in time judging by the sheer speed the fire was managing to spread.

"Superman," she called into her communicator as she stood by the fire martial, the horizon and sky ablaze seemingly all around them.

" _Whatever's wrong, it_ _will have to wait._ _Something serious has come up._ _"_ came the response.

"This fire's important, Superman" she retorted. "It's spreading fast and we need to stop it. We have a plan, but we need your help."

" _I can't, Diana. I have another emergency on my hands."_

"Superman, this is an emergency. We won't keep you longer than we have to, but we need you here."

There was a pause. _"_ _Fine,_ _I'm on my way, but it better not take long."_

In order to be quick about this, Diana knew she was going to need as many people as possible that were strong enough to shift what amounted to perhaps a few thousand tons of trees in a scarce few hours.

Superman arrived shortly before the others which included Big Barda, Orion, Captain Marvel, Steel, the three Green Lanterns and Sand

Superman began. "So what's the plan? And whatever it is, it better not take up much of my time. Something urgent has come up and it needs my attention."

The Fire Marshal spoke quickly. "It's one that I don't really condone, but I feel it has to be done. There's a ridge that connects the west and east parts of the national park. If the fire gets there, it will spread across and do untold damage." He gestured to the ridge on the map. "Your job won't be easy."

Barda quickly grew impatient. "Get to the point."

"I need you to essentially deforest the ridge and find a way to stop the spread. We've got the fire mostly under control on the south and north-west, but we don't have the resources to stop its spread eastwards."

Wonder Woman added to the conversation. "We have a basic plan on how to accomplish this. We remove the trees to stop the fire leaping between them." She looked at Sand. "We also need you to create a barrier, whether it be covering everything in dirt to stop it burning, or raise the Earth to create a wall."

Sand nodded. "With an area that size it won't be easy, but I'll do what I can."

The cop folded his arms. "Not exactly the most lawful plan, but if it'll stop the spread, then I guess we have no other choice."

Captain Marvel frowned. "What d'ya mean it's not lawful?"

The Fire Marshal looked at him. "Can't go around deforesting a national park. But in this case, it's the only plan we have. We can't stop the spread before it hits that ridge and from there it's open season for that fire. There's more than a few hundred acres of trees and it could end up engulfing that whole area of the park."

John Stewart raised his ring hand and squeezed it into a fist. "We'll get it done."

The Fire Marshal nodded. "Good luck."

Wonder Woman took the lead as she took to the air. John used his power ring to encapsulate those that couldn't fly in green energy and carried them as they headed eastwards through the thick smoke.

They emerged on the other side near the rocky ridge in question. A good portion of it had no flora at all, but there was a wide section covered in trees, bushes and grass.

"Let's get to work," Wonder Woman said.

What happened next was possibly the most unusual operation that the Justice league had been involved in. They were destroying trees to prevent the spread of fire.

The heavy hitters tore and smashed the trees from the ground while the Lanterns took them out of the area. Where they were taking them, Wonder Woman didn't know. She would have to ask them later on, but that could wait. They had a fire to stop.

* * *

 **Sandsmark Residence**

 **Gateway City**

 **United States**

 **17:55 – PDT**

Cassie had received a call from her mother, telling her that she was not going to be home probably until midnight.

With nothing much else to do, she sat back and watched TV. It was a good time sink, though tonight there wasn't particularly anything interesting on.

Then someone knocked on the back door rather loudly.

Cautiously, she switched off the TV and stood up from the couch and made her way through into the kitchen. Stood by the back door much to Cassie's surprise was Starfire.

She unlocked the door and pulled it open. "What are you doing here?" she asked the orange alien.

"I was in the area," Starfire answered. "Just wondered if you wanted to hang out."

Cassie was surprised by that. "Hang out?"

"That is the correct term, yes? I'm still getting used to your language."

"It's the right term, yeah."

"Can I come in?"

"Um, sure," Cassie said, stepping aside allowing the orange-skinned Tamaranean into the house before she shut and locked the door behind her.

"You have a nice home," Starfire commented looking around the kitchen.

"Thanks. It's just me and mom. She's at the museum though."

"So you are alone?"

"At the moment, yeah," Cassie confirmed as she made her way over towards the refrigerator. "You want something to eat or drink?"

"No," Starfire said as she stood awkwardly by the door.

"So, any reason you came here in particular?"

Starfire bit her bottom lip. "I need advice," she said finally.

"From me?" Cassie questioned, unsure what advice she could possibly offer.

"It's about boys," Starfire said.

"Oh, I thought it was going to be something difficult," Cassie said sarcastically. Only Starfire didn't pick up on it.

"Then you have knowledge in this area?"

She slowly shook her head. "Actually, no," she admitted. "Well, yes, a little, but it's complicated. They're complicated."

"Yes," Starfire agreed.

Cassie regarded her for a moment. Just looking at the orange alien, it was hard to believe that she could possibly have boy trouble.

"Y'know," the teen began. "I'm amazed you're having issues."

"What do you mean?"

"You look like a supermodel or something. Me? I'm a Plain Jane only blonde."

"Don't put yourself down. You are very pretty."

Now Cassie just felt awkward. "Thanks?" She decided to hand the conversation back into Starfire's corner. "So you said you were having trouble with boys?"

"Not boys, I should not have said that. It is about Richard."

"Grayson?"

"Yes," Starfire confirmed. "I knew the moment I saw him that he was the one."

Cassie cringed. She had never believed the while love at first sight thing. Nevertheless, she decided to go along with it. "What do you mean by that?" she asked, believing she already knew the cliché answer.

"He is the man of my dreams."

And there it was, the line straight from a bad romance movie. "Really?" she asked not at all convinced.

"Yes and I mean literally."

Either she was misusing the term "Literally" or she meant it. "So you have dreams about him?" Cassie questioned, not liking where this was going if she did in fact honestly mean it.

"Yes, since before I met him."

That caught her attention. "What do you mean? That you've dreamt about him? Before you met? For real? That's weird."

Starfire nodded casting her eyes downwards at the floor. "I've never told anyone, but I've had these dreams for years now. They don't make much sense and he was dressed in a different costume, but I knew it was him the moment I laid eyes on him."

"Different costume?"

"Yes, it was red with green gloves."

"You mean Robin?" Cassie questioned. "You dreamt about him when he was Robin?" She assumed he was Robin. She knew that he was Nightwing, or rather had been, and there was the rumour that Nightwing had been the first Robin. Cassie herself, though, had no idea.

"Yes," Starfire confirmed. "I do not know the specifics, but we were part of a team when we were younger."

"In the dream?" Cassie asked, looking for clarification.

"Yes, in the dream," Starfire confirmed. "But something happened, I don't know what, and the world turned to ash. There were only a few dozen survivors and we had to figure out a way to stop some great evil. I cannot see the other's faces, though, they are blurry and not well defined. Only Richard's face, with his dark eye mask."

Cassie sat there trying to wrap her head around what she was being told. "That's some dream."

"Not one, but many over many years," Starfire told her. "I don't know if he has the same dreams, though. I don't know why he would, they are just dreams. But maybe they aren't? Am I making sense?"

Cassie shrugged. "Not to me, but go on."

"The dreams don't really feel like dreams. I know how dreams feel. These are more like memories that are replaying in my head. What if they are what if something did happen? What if he's having the same visions?"

"Have you asked him?"

"I'm scared of what he would say."

"Scared?"

"I know how this sounds," Starfire admitted. "It sounds like the years of torture have broken me, but it hasn't. I know they are real somehow."

"Wait, what?" Cassie questioned. She had no idea about any torture. "What do you mean by torture?"

"The Citadel, the Gordanians and the Psions. They did things."

"Don't say any more, I don't wanna know," Cassie said quickly, not wanting to know. Her head was already muddled trying to figure out what it was the alien was telling her.

Dreams of people she had never met of an apocalypse that had never happened. It was bizarre, but honestly, not as bizarre as it had been for Cassie developing the crazy powers.

Cassie looked at the orange alien. She honestly had no idea what advice to offer except the obvious. "Maybe you should talk to the Justice League about this?"

Starfire didn't answer. At least not right away. She moved over to a stool that lay near the breakfast nook and sat down. "Perhaps."

"You're not going to," Cassie realised.

"I need to know if he has the same dreams, first."

"Why tell me this?"

"I needed someone to talk to."

"But why me? Why not Diana?"

Starfire shrugged in response. "I don't know."

There was silence. Cassie felt strange knowing that out of everyone she could have gone to, that she had come to her with this. It made her want to reach out.

"Hey," Cassie began, "if you want to hang out sometime, then I'm up for it," she offered. "We could go to the mall sometime, y'know?"

Starfire smiled. "I would like that," she said.

"I'll be starting work at your athletics club on Monday, so how about next Saturday?"

"That would be wonderful," Starfire said smiling.

"I could introduce you to Kati, my best friend," Cassie said.

"Yes, I would like to meet her."

"Cool," Cassie said. "Should I pick you up in my car?"

"Yes, that will be good."

"Cool, we'll set up the details in the week during my shift."

"Yes, and I will help you, both me and Victor."

"What's he like?"

"Victor? He's nice. I think the two of you will get along. He gets along with everyone."

"That's great. I'll see you on Monday, then?"

"Yes, Monday." Starfire stepped over to the back door. Cassie quickly unlocked it and pulled it open. Starfire stepped outside. "Farewell," she offered.

"See ya," Cassie said back as she watched the Tamaranean fly off into the evening. After a few moments staring at the reddening sky, Cassie went back inside and locked the door then returned to the living room where she continued to watch TV.

* * *

 **Redwood Forest**

 **Outside San Francisco**

 **United States**

 **18:38 – PDT**

Almost a full hour passed since they had begun their operation of clearing the ridge to help stop the spread of the fire and it was going a lot better than anticipated. It was clear, though, that Superman's head was not in the game.

It had something to do with Kara, Diana knew that. The last update she had received from Batman was that they had found Galatea and some unknown.

From there, she had no idea what had occurred and from Superman's performance and attitude, she could easily make the assumption that it had not gone well.

It hadn't helped that Captain Marvel had wanted to hang around Superman, which wasn't a good thing considering the Man of Steel's dour mood.

Wonder Woman had been forced to separate them, allowing Superman to work more or less alone.

As the clock turned to seven on the west coast, their task was completed along with a fine layer of dirt that coated the area. There was little chance that the fire would be able to spread now, at least into the eastern part of the parkland.

But the night was far from over and the team, all except for Superman all continued assisting the fire departments.

* * *

 **Watchtower II**

 **Earth Orbit**

 **16:12 – Station Time**

"We should be down there finding her," Kara urged.

J'onn wasn't so sure, at least not at that moment. "You need rest," he told her.

"I can't rest with her down there doing who knows what with my body," Kara said. "I don't want to be stuck in this copy," she said gesturing down at herself. "This brain of hers has the means to track her, right? So get to it."

Kara was being a lot more forceful than usual, but J'onn couldn't blame her. Being stuck in a clone's body certainly wasn't something J'onn would like to happen to himself. He doubted many would.

"Very well," he accepted. "I will take a look."

"Just be glad I'm comfortable with you looking around in there."

"I am not looking at your thoughts or memories, Kara. Just the link."

"Yeah, I know. And thanks for this."

J'onn raised his hands at either side of her head and his eyes began to glow as he tried to find the link between the Clone's mind and Kara's true mind which was now in the possession of Galatea's consciousness and down there somewhere on Earth.

He focused on it closely, getting flashes of a sky and a city. He didn't recognise it, but he could almost feel the location. Somewhere in the Midwest, but she was moving fast and the city seemed to disappear replaced by what? Clouds? Had she gained altitude? Perhaps. No, there was no way he could get an accurate location, not like this.

J'onn verbalised what he could see. "She is moving fast, too fast to track."

"She'll have to stop eventually," Kara said.

"Yes," J'onn agreed. Though there was something else he could sense, something that wasn't quite right.

He knew that he shouldn't, but he looked deeper, peeling back the layers. What he found was not to his liking. Her memories as Kara were hollow, void. Simply echoes with no substance.

For a few moments he was confused as to what exactly it was he was seeing before he realised. The memories were hollow because they weren't memories at all.

He pulled away suddenly. "We will continue tomorrow," he said quickly.

Kara frowned. "Something wrong?"

"Your mind is fatigued from the stress, as is mine. We both need rest."

Kara sighed but nodded. "You're right."

"I promise, we will not stop until we find her."

"I know. And thanks J'onn."

He nodded before quickly leaving the room. He needed to talk to Superman and the others.

He had once again made a mistake. He had made an assumption, one that was incorrect. Thankfully, it was also one that while easier to fix, also made things multitudes more complex.

Everything that could have gone wrong had gone wrong and he felt responsible for it.

* * *

 **Watchtower II**

 **Earth Orbit**

 **16:21 – Station Time**

Superman had wanted to go see Kara the moment he stepped aboard the station, but instead, J'onn had called him to the founder's conference room.

If he wanted to speak in there, then he had to assume that it was important. The room was well insulated from sound, even he himself would have trouble listening in to whatever was said in there.

If J'onn needed to see him in that room, then there had to be something he needed to say that he did not want anyone else listening in to, even by accident.

He stepped into the conference room to find J'onn pacing, a sight he couldn't recall ever seeing before.

"What's wrong?" Superman asked before the doors had finished closing.

J'onn stopped and turned to him looking worried. "I cannot believe I did not realise earlier. I cannot believe I missed it."

"Missed what?" Superman questioned growing increasingly concerned. "Is Kara okay?"

J'onn shook his head. "No, Kara is not. We need to find her and quickly."

Now Superman was really feeling on edge. "What happened? Did she leave? I thought she was up here?"

"No, she wasn't."

"You and Batman brought her up here? What happened?"

"We never brought her up. She wasn't the one we brought up here, it was Galatea."

Superman's frustration was reaching dangerous levels. "I don't understand," he said hitting his fist on the table, the vibrations reverberating loudly through the floor. "I thought their minds had been switched? Is this a trick, did she trick us?" As soon as the question left Superman's mouth he knew it didn't make sense. Kara would not have attacked Batman and flown away.

"This is not a trick. Their minds were not swapped as I first thought."

"I don't understand."

"It was not their minds, but their memories. Sat in that room aboard this station is Galatea with the memories of Kara. At least the shells of memories. They are without substance like the backdrop in a stage-play."

"Then that means that down there somewhere is Kara with the memories of the clone," Superman surmised. "You have to fix this before she does something she will later regret."

"We have to find her first," J'onn said. "This will not be an easy task. But correcting the memories will be far easier and safer than trying to correct their bodies had they actually been swapped." The Martian sat down. "However, they may carry the echo of each other's memories for the rest of their lives."

Superman also took a seat, his legs feeling strangely weak. He may have adopted Kara as a cousin, but she was more like a little sister. Since he had first gotten the call from his parents in Smallville, he had felt powerless.

This was not something that he could solve, not without J'onn and while he appreciated his friend, when it came to Kara he hated having to rely on someone else.

He was glad that person was J'onn.


	17. Chapter 17

****Author's Note:****

 ** **While writing the chapters that are to follow I was worried that the reader might get confused as to who is who. I tried to make it clear while not being overbearing and confusing the matter even more.****

* * *

 ** **Chapter**** ** **S**** ** **eventeen****

 ** **Somewhere in** **Michigan****

 ** **United States****

 **20:34 – CDT**

 ** **August 18, 2007****

The night was drawing in. Galatea; or rather Kara who unknowingly had the memories of Galatea, was sat on the edge of Lake Michigan looking out across the water.

The clothes she wore were stolen and recently so. When she had knocked Batman out and attacked Superman to make her escape, she had been dressed in nothing but a medical gown.

While she normally didn't feel the cold, she had felt cold in that. She put it down to the stresses this body had been through within the last few hours and she hadn't yet fully recovered from it.

She just wondered what Kara was up to in her body? The thought made her shiver.

Galatea was not alone. The White Martian stood behind her, almost too afraid to approach.

It was after perhaps thirty minutes of sitting there that the Kryptonian finally stood up and turned around to face her. "If you're gonna be telling me some sob story about your time at Cadmus, then you'll want to hear mine. And I tell you, mine's a doozy."

The Martian said nothing.

"If you knew what was good for you, you'd flee," she warned. "It's your fault that I'm in _her_ body. I feel dirty, unclean."

The green girl stepped forward, her fingers webbed together. "You are not her," she said.

Galatea folded her arms. "Is it that obvious?" she asked sarcastically. "What gave it away? Me attacking Superman, or was it the flying away as fast as I could?"

"No, I mean you are Kara."

"No, I have the body of Kara."

"And the mind. You have the memories of Galatea, but you are not her."

The Kryptonian folded her arms unamused. "I think I'd know if I weren't me."

"But would you?" The Martian asked earnestly. "If you had the memories of someone else would you really know who you were? Or would you assume that your mind had been swapped somehow?"

"You are really pushing me, Greenie," Galatea said stepping up to her in a threatening manner, her fists clenched her arms curved forward from her waist.

The Martian was unfazed. "Who do you feel like you are?"

She couldn't believe she was still trying to convince her that she wasn't herself. "What kind of question is that? I know who I am."

"But do your memories feel like yours?"

She had just about had enough. "Don't you try and get into my head. Not with this shrink talk, or literally with your mind powers. Just go back to Cadmus or wherever you came from and leave me to figure out how to get my body back on my own."

"You're already in your body."

"Shut up, Greenie," Galatea warned. "Or I'll pulverise you until you look like snot on the floor."

"You're not a violent person," the Martian said.

Galatea couldn't believe she had even thought that let alone said it. "Come on, even if you really do think I'm Kara, you can't claim I'm not violent. All the heroes are violent. Just ask the guys they beat up."

"Bad guys."

"Like you, who invaded our minds without our permission and ended up swapping them somehow? You're the badguy here and I should pound you for it."

The White Martian raised her hands up in front of her in surrender. "I'm not a bad guy, that was not meant to happen. When I tried to look into your mind, I was kinda sucked into it."

She didn't believe her. "Lies."

"I'm telling the truth."

"And why should I believe that?"

"If I tell you my name, will you at least try to trust me?"

"And why should I do that? You could tell me any name and claim it's yours."

"You're right, but maybe if I do that and try and tell you something about myself, you'll help me."

"Help you?"

"Yes. I need your help."

Galatea rolled her eyes and folded her arms. "Fine, go ahead."

"My name is M'gann."

"That the name your slime parents gave you, or something Cadmus picked?"

The Martian, or rather M'gann shrugged. "I'm not really sure. I think it might have been a designation when I was part of the Imperium."

"You don't know?" the Kryptonian questioned sceptically.

"My time as part of the Imperium are kind of fuzzy. It might have been my name from before, but I don't really know."

"From before?"

"I get flashes, memories from a long time ago. I'm not sure if they're even mine. I don't really know how old I am, but the scientists at the place I was staying said I was maybe a teenager, perhaps older. But Martians age a lot slower and I don't know if I aged at all when I was an Imperium thrall, so I don't know."

"And you are a White Martian?"

"Yes."

"But your kind didn't come from Mars. You came from outside the solar system. At least that's what the files at Cadmus claimed."

"The Imperium came from outside the solar system. Millennia ago, my ancestors, the White Martians struck a deal in return for power. Instead, the Imperium turned us into slaves. It took us from Mars and changed us. Then we returned centuries, maybe millennia later. But it wasn't to fulfil any promise, but for its own desires."

"And you know this despite your memories being hazy?"

"I can't explain these things I know, whether it's knowledge passed on by the Imperium itself, or through my parents, or what. But I know that we were changed, turned into drones to address every need the Imperium had. We had enough consciousness to perform our duties, to fight to even talk, but there was something missing. I guess you could call it a soul."

"And I'm guessing this Imperium thing had the need to invade and conquer?"

"Yes."

"And you said you needed help? Not that I'm offering."

"I need to know who I am, what my purpose is here? Why I was spared when everyone else died?"

"You and me both," Galatea mumbled. She took to the air, the Martian following close behind.

"What am I supposed to do now?" M'gann questioned.

"I don't care as long as it's far away from me."

"I need your help."

"And? Am I supposed to care?" Galatea questioned. "I don't need your help, so if you could find someone else to annoy, that would be great."

"I don't know anyone else. Not outside of the facility."

Galatea slowed to a stop, a glare aimed at M'gann. "Read my lips: I do not care. Go away."

"You're not a bad person, Kara."

Galatea clenched her fists. "Call me that name one more time and I promise you, I will turn you to paste."

"But it's your name."

"That's it!" Galatea shouted as she shot forwards, her arm reared back.

She threw her fist forward only to connect with air. The momentary disorientation left her confused as to where her opponent was. After a moment she managed to find M'gann behind her staring in shock.

"Why did you do that?" the Martian questioned.

"I warned you," Galatea said. "I told you not to call me that name again."

"So what should I call you?"

"Whatever you want, I don't care."

"Kara, then."

"Except that, don't call me that."

"Then do you want me to call you Karen?"

That took her by surprise. That had been the name she had given Clara and the other fire watch personnel back in California. "How do you know about that?"

"I saw it in your mind. Kara calls herself Karen too, did you know that?"

Galatea turned away, facing her back to her. "No, I didn't know. Now I need to go pay someone a visit. You can join me if you can keep up."

She didn't leave M'gann a chance to respond as she shot forward, heading eastwards. She decided not to go as fast as she could, mainly because she knew that if she caused too much of a wake it would make her easier to detect by the very same people who had killed Emil.

Instead, she went high and kept her speed below the sound barrier. Even at this rather slow speed, she believed that the Martian would have a hard time keeping up.

Or at least she hoped that would be the case.

Soon she found the place she wanted. Dakota City. She could also see Delina Gibson's house far below. But something caught her attention. Outside were two parked cars, both painted in matte black.

They stuck out like a sore thumb, especially since she couldn't actually see what lay inside. They were coated in lead or something making her X-Ray vision useless.

Cadmus. It had to be. They might go by the name of Project Ultima for the time being, but it was still Cadmus no matter what they currently labelled themselves.

She doubted even those within the government knew everything that they were doing or would condone it if they did. Like the Justice League, they believed themselves to be above the law, but unlike the Justice League, they actually were to a very large degree.

It also helped that Cadmus was hidden from public view.

Slowly Galatea descended and focused on the house. The roof faded away and she saw inside.

There were five men in the house all wearing black with masks and they were all carrying guns and other equipment. Delina was in her basement with her son, hiding behind the boiler.

Galatea knew that she could just leave them. Fly away and not look back. But she doubted they were there for a social call. They were there because of her, because of Emil.

As two of them opened the door to the basement and descended down she knew she had to make a decision. It was when she saw them find the two Gibson's and point their guns at them that she decided it was time to act.

She descended down, feet first. There was a boom as she passed the speed of sound, then soon after she slowed as she approached the roof, crashing through it with little resistance.

She smashed her way down through the floorboards of the attic, then through the upper floor all the way down into the basement landing behind the two gunmen.

Before they could even react she grabbed them both from behind and threw them up through the hole she had just made.

Not wasting a moment, she held out her hand to Delina and her son. "I have to get you out of here."

A voice shouted from somewhere upstairs. "It's the Kryptonian clone, she's here."

"What do we do?" Another voice asked.

The question was answered when they threw something down at them, something cylindrical.

Galatea quickly grabbed it and threw it up into the air as it exploded into a cloud of green gas.

Almost immediately she began to feel nauseous. Two armed men clad in black descended down from the hole above. She acted immediately, disarming one by grabbing the gun from his hand and crushing it, though the firearm felt a little tougher to crush than she was expecting.

The other let off a shot, hitting her shoulder. It didn't pierce the skin, but still hurt more than it should have.

She grabbed him and threw him against the wall then looked Delina in the eyes. "Get out of here, I'll hold them off."

Delina grabbed her son's hand and ran past Galatea as two more jumped down the hole.

One of them threw something at her feet, which promptly exploded, filling the room with even more green gas.

She covered her face with her right arm and began to step back away from them. Her skin and eyes stung, as did her chest. She could make a guess as to what was in the gas and that was Kryptonite.

She decided the only real option was to run. If she could get into the air, then they could not follow her.

Galatea moved up the stairs to find that Delina and her son were being held at gunpoint.

She moved sluggishly, albeit still faster than any human, knocking him aside and grabbing the gun from his grip, giving it to Delina, who warily took it.

"I said, get out of here," she urged.

The two moved quickly out of the front door, her bringing up the rear.

The sound of a gun went off behind her, knocking her forward with a stumble. She spun around only to get more of the green gas in her face, followed by a punch.

She stumbled back, feeling the hit. The man felt it more, clutching his hand and letting out a gasp of pain.

Galatea was feeling a different kind of pain. Her lungs felt like they were on fire. Worse was that she began coughing up blood.

She was so out of it, that she didn't even register being knocked down onto the ground. She was cognizant enough to see the gun barrel in her face.

The force of the gun going off caused the back of her head to bounce off of the floor and severe pain to flow over her forehead.

"Why won't you die!" the voice behind the gun shouted at her.

While she still was alive, Galatea honestly wondered if she would be much longer. She could feel the wetness of blood flowing down her head from where the bullet had managed to pierce her skin in her weakened state.

Then something white, blue and green knocked the armed man off of her. Galatea tried to climb to her feet, but her legs felt weak and unresponsive. She had honestly never felt like this before. She felt all wrong as though her body no longer wanted to obey her commands.

A hand gripped hers and helped her to her feet. She tried to focus on whoever it was, managing to just see the blurred features of who she assumed was Delina Gibson.

"I've got you," she heard her say, though her voice sounded muffled.

She heard a gunshot go off from somewhere behind, followed by the splintering of wood. The pace of the person holding her increased until they stood next to a car.

"I'll help you inside," the voice said as she was eased into the back seat.

Not much else after that made sense as she fell in and out of consciousness.

Finally, the world around her faded away and for a brief moment, Galatea remembered who she was: Kara.

* * *

 **Project Ultima (Offshoot of Project Cadmus)**

 **Somewhere in New Mexico, United States**

 **08:40 – Mountain Daylight Time**

 **August 19, 2007**

Colonel Rick Flag Jr clenched his fist as he finished reading the report for the tenth time. Not only had Delina Gibson escaped being brought into their facility in Michigan, not only had the clone managed to interfere as he had expected her to, but the White Martian had intervened.

The clone had been anticipated. That was why they had the gas, but the White Martian had not.

There were some questions that needed to be asked and Hugo Strange would have to answer them. It was because of him that the alien had been on the team and he had assured him that she could not escape, could not disable the implanted explosive that would end her life if she even tried.

A knock at the door indicated that Strange had arrived. It was time to get rid of the thorn that had been in their side for years now.

"Come in," Flag called out.

The door opened and Hugo Strange stepped inside. He fixed the position of his round dark corrective glasses before making his way over to the colonel's desk.

"Don't bother sitting down, this will be short."

"Good," Strange said. "I am a very busy man."

"You won't be soon," Flag said.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean your White Martian went AWOL, it has joined forces with the clone and helped a potential asset slip through our fingers."

"That was not my fault," Strange objected defensively.

"Yes, it was. I have spoken with those in charge and we are in agreement, even Cannon is in agreement and he's a pushover that only thinks he's in charge." Flag pressed down the speaker on his phone. "Send them in."

Strange looked around as armed soldiers stepped into the room. "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded.

"We had a deal," Flag said. "A deal that should never have been made. You have become a liability, one that has put this organisation at risk."

"How dare you," Strange said furiously. "You need me!"

"What we need is to get you out of here before you cause more problems."

"You have wanted me out from the start," Strange accused.

Flag did not refute it. "And for good reason. Get him out of here."

The soldiers gestured their guns at him. "Come with us."

"I will get you for this," Strange promised.

"Keep spouting out the cliché lines like the failed Supervillain you are. I'm sure it'll help change my mind," Flag said, before adding. "Enjoy Belle Reve."

"You can't send me there, I haven't even had a trial!"

"And?" Flag asked. "You're not the first to be held without trial and you will not be the last." He leant back in his chair. "Get him out of my sight."

Flag heard Strange's protests, even after he was out of the room and the door was closed.

His shouts echoed down the hallway and it brought him some satisfaction but not enough to ease the fear he felt deep down. Mistakes had been made and with the White Martian more had been added to it. He hated Cadmus, Ultima and the rest of it. He was in charge of Task Force X but somehow it had been roped into being part of this; in his opinion, unpatriotic organisation.

But for now, he was stuck right where he was, in some poorly hidden facility near a small town maybe a hundred miles north of the Mexican border. He should be safeguarding America, not unleashing horrors that could devastate it.

Regardless of his personal misgivings, he was a patriot and for now he would follow the course his country had set. But he knew that soon, he might just have to start taking matters into his own hands.


	18. Chapter 18

****Chapter**** ** **Eighteen****

 ** **Dakota City****

 ** **United States****

 ** **1**** ** **4**** ** **:24 – E**** ** **D**** ** **T****

 ** **August 1** **9** **, 2007****

The house had sustained a lot of damage, but that was not what was of interest to Batman. It was who had caused it and why.

Police cars surrounded the area, coordinating off the house and part of the street.

He remained where he was, hidden from view until the crime scene investigators left the house and drove away. All that was left were a few police officers all stood around waiting to be relieved.

Going unseen in daylight was magnitudes more difficult than it was in the night, but that did not dissuade the Dark Knight from investigating for himself. Especially when this house belonged to someone of interest.

Evading everyone's notice, he slipped in through the gaping hole in the roof and followed the destruction all the way down into the basement.

He did not even have to guess who had made the hole, he already knew. He was more interested in who else had been after Delina Gibson last night and why.

The first thing he noted was a strange fluorescent powder that lay not only on the floor but on various surfaces. It was very fine, but the slight fluorescent green glow it gave off was suspicious. Batman gathered some to analyse later before taking a long look around the basement.

Finding nothing else, he headed upstairs to the ground floor. There were bullet holes in the wall, but no sign of bullets or casings. He suspected that they had already been taken for analysis by the police.

Near the front door, he found blood. Some had already been swabbed by the police, but he wanted his own sample which he took.

From there he headed upstairs but found nothing of interest. It appeared that everything had occurred downstairs and in the basement.

Searching the downstairs one final time, he found a compressed fragmented bullet hidden behind a large empty vase near the front door. It had hit something hard and unyielding.

He then left, no one the wiser to the fact that he was ever there.

* * *

 **Outskirts of Dakota City**

 **United States**

 **15:04 – EDT**

Pain. That was what she felt as she slowly regained consciousness. Kara wasn't quite sure what had happened, but it felt like her lungs had been stripped of their lining.

Slowly her eyes opened and she saw a figure stood over her. A figure with red hair. "Babs?" she asked before gripping her pained head.

The voice that answered was not Barbara's. "Are you getting your true memories back Kara?"

For a moment she accepted the name before her brain rejected it. She wasn't Kara, she was Galatea.

Wasn't she?

Slowly the fog started to ease and Kara who at that moment believed herself to be Galatea began to regain her sense of self. Only it was the wrong self.

As her vision cleared she realised that she was laying down across the back seat of a car, the green-skinned, red-headed girl staring at her from where she stood leaning into the car through the open door.

"Get out of my face," Galatea said, trying to push her away. She lacked the strength to do so and the strain only led to a coughing fit.

It only worsened when Delina showed up. "She's awake?"

The White Martian moved away and answered. "Yes, but she's in pain."

"What gave it away?" Galatea wheezed sarcastically with a grimace. "The fact that my lungs feel like they're inside out?"

Delina knelt by the car. "I think they were using Kryptonite gas."

"You think?" Galatea derided.

The White Martian was confused. "What is Kryptonite?"

Galatea ignored the question and spoke to Deline. "So, am I going to die?"

"I don't know."

She had meant it as a joke, but the response concerned her. "What do you-" she didn't finish the question as she started coughing again which ended with her spitting up blood.

"Take it easy," Delina said, reaching in and resting a hand on her back. "What happened to Emil?" she then asked. "Your friend isn't saying anything."

Galatea closed her eyes. Did she tell her? She honestly didn't know how she would react.

"Do you remember?"

"They killed him," she uttered finally. Strangely, she didn't feel the remorse or loss that she had expected.

Delina took a step back. She didn't say anything for several moments. "This is my fault," she said finally. "They must have known you would come to me and they must have known about the vacation home."

Galatea pushed herself out of the car and forced herself to stand.

Delina quickly rested her hand on her shoulder, "No," she said softly you shouldn't get up."

"I'm fine," Galatea dismissed, struggling to keep herself from coughing some more.

She failed and hacked up more blood.

"You are not fine," Delina said. "You got a lot of that stuff in your lungs. Some of it might have entered your bloodstream."

"I said I'm fine," Galatea said more forcefully.

"You are not fine," Delina said right back. "We're not fine, none of this is fine!" she then snapped.

The Kryptonian looked around. "How long was I out?"

"Since last night," Delina said in a calmer tone. "We need to get you some help, but we don't know how to get in contact with the Justice League."

"I don't need their help," Galatea said in refusal. "I'm still alive, aren't I? It'll pass."

"What if it doesn't?"

"If it was going to kill me, I would be dead already," Galatea told them. "See, no more coughing."

The moment she said it, she doubled over and vomited on the dirt. Slowly she righted herself. "I am going to kill them slowly," she seethed.

In all of her years of living, she had never felt so weak or so ill. She hated it. She just wanted to feel better, but wishing it definitely didn't make it so. In fact the more she thought about it, the worse she felt.

"I feel like death," she said as she sat back down in the back of the car, her legs hanging out of the side, her feet on the dirt. She caught a glimpse of Delina's teenage kid staring at her. "What are you looking at?"

He turned away as she held her stomach. So this was what it felt like to be poisoned. The only thing that could really do her harm and she had taken a good few lung-fulls of the stuff.

The White Martian stepped in front of her, blocking out the sun.

"Do you mind?" the Kryptonian wheezed at her. "You're in my light."

"You know you're going to have to go to the Justice League," she said.

Galatea went to respond but instead was stricken with another coughing fit.

Delina added. "I'll have to drive you to Metropolis."

"I'm not going-" she couldn't finish her sentence, but she managed to avoid coughing. Instead, her eyes watered and her face turned red.

"Do you need water?" Delina asked with concern. "I might have some in the glove box."

"I'm fine," Galatea said, forcing herself to stand back up. "Some sun and air and I'll be fine."

Delina disagreed. "You're not fine."

"I'm resilient. I've survived worse."

"Have you ever had Kryptonite in your bloodstream before?" Delina questioned.

"I'd know if it had entered my bloodstream. I think it just affected my lungs a bit."

"You can't make guesses with this," Delina said. "You might be awake now, but who knows the damage it might have done. It could still be slowly killing you."

"I said I'm fine."

Delina pushed her back into the car and the Kryptonian found herself powerless to stop her.

"Your abilities are shot, your father's dead and the government wants to kill you too," the woman said to her. "We're taking the drive to Metropolis. The Justice League will help you, I know they will."

M'gann spoke up. "They will because she's not who she thinks she is."

"Not this again," Galatea bemoaned. "I am not Kara. Just borrowing her body."

The White Martian interjected. "She has all of Galatea's memories, so she thinks she's her."

Delina's brow shot up. "Excuse me? What did you just say? If this isn't Tea, then who is it?"

"Don't listen," Galatea said. "She's gone wacko in the brainstem."

M'gann was insistant. "It's true, she's really Kara."

"No," the Kryptonian said simply.

"Yes," M'gann said in response.

"No," the Kryptonian said more forcefully.

"It is true."

"No, it's not."

Delina raised her hands. "Can you both not argue like kids? I can't deal with this, not right now."

"It's a good job I've lost my powers," Galatea said to M'gann with a glare. "Because I would-" Once again she began to hack.

"No more arguing," Delina said. "We're getting you to Metropolis."

Galatea shook her head as her spluttering calmed down. "Too dangerous to drive. Not with government agents on your tail."

"We'll have to take the risk," Delina said. "It's what Emil would want. Not for you to die."

M'gann took the initiative. "Any other way of contacting them instead of driving?"

Delina thought for a moment. "There is the local hero, Static. He might have connections."

"He does," Galatea managed as she rested her hand on her chest. "Not sure to what extent. Cadmus considered bringing him in a few times to find out what he knew. By force if necessary."

"I don't know how to contact him, though" Delina admitted.

"That's too bad." Galatea shrugged as she brought her feet into the car and pulled the door shut.

Delina opened it right back up. "What are you doing?"

"Can you let me die in peace?"

"No one else is dying," Delina said turning to the Martian. "M'gann, can you try and find him?"

"How?"

"I don't know, Fly around casting fireballs or something."

"I can't cast fireballs."

"What can you do?"

Galatea answered for her. "She can mess up your head if that's what you're looking for?"

M'gann answered properly. "I can fly and I can change my form."

"Right, I guess just do that around the city until you find him."

"What does he look like?" M'gann asked.

"Well, he's black like me and he wears like a blue jacket and a white eye mask. He also has dreadlocks and flies around on a disk thing."

"I'll try and find him," M'gann said as she began to hover. "What do I do if I cannot?"

Delina looked at Galatea, who responded. "What are you looking at me for?"

"You were trained in this sort of stuff."

"What sort of stuff?"

"Seeking people out. I thought you might have some ideas?"

"Cause some noise, get his attention."

"Noise?" M'gann asked. "What do you mean?"

"Cause a scene, make yourself a nuisance. That's the kind of thing that draws the hero types out."

Delina quickly added. "Just don't hurt anyone."

"I have no intention of hurting anyone. I will be back," M'gann said as she flew off into the sky.

Galatea watched her go. With luck, the Martian would get lost. She didn't like her, not after what she had done to her and frankly, she blamed her for every subsequent thing that had gone wrong, especially being exposed to the Kryptonite gas.

Galatea watched in surprise as Delina leant on the side of the car and unexpectedly began to cry.

She had no idea that Emil had meant so much to her. Then again maybe it was the shock?

Galatea honestly didn't know, but what concerned her was how disconnected she felt from what had happened. Could M'gann be right? Could she be Kara?

She dismissed the thought completely. No, she knew who she was. She was Galatea and she would bring Colonel Rick Flag Jr and everyone else involved to justice for what they had done.

One way or another.

* * *

 **Park Ridge**

 **Gotham City**

 **United States**

 **16:01 – EDT**

Barbara Gordon was happy when she opened her front door to find Kara stood on the other side. After a brief hug, the two headed inside where she offered her friend a drink.

"No thanks," came Kara's strangely solemn reply.

It had not escaped the redhead's notice that not only was Kara looking a little down in the dumps but also looked a little different.

Her hair was shorter than usual, which itself had been shorter than when she had left for the future. It had sat some way down her back and now it sat on her shoulders. Also her shoulders looked slightly broader, not that Barbara dwelt on such details.

There was also something about the eyes that seemed different. When she looked at them, it was almost like she was looking at a different person.

Barbara tried to ease into the conversation. "How are you?"

Kara shrugged. "Right now, I don't really know. Life has taken a weird turn and I really mean weird."

"How so?"

Kara closed her eyes and rubbed her face. "Well, I kinda snuck off the Watchtower because I needed someone to talk to. Now I'm here I'm not even sure how you'll take it."

"You can tell me anything, Kara," Barbara promised.

"Well, I guess it started when I was back in Smallville. I guess I collapsed."

"You collapsed?" Barbara asked concerned.

"I'll cut this story short, Babs. My memory is fuzzy, but as I understand it, some Martian girl entered my clone's mind, which ended up pulling me in as well."

"What happened? You must have escaped if you're here now?"

"In a way, yeah."

"In a way?"

"Something happened and I swapped consciousness with my clone. This is her body."

Barbara looked her up and down. "I thought there was something a little off," she said while trying to wrap her head around it.

It didn't take long.

Barbara stood up as she ran her hands through her long red hair. "Oh my god," she breathed. "That is actually horrifying."

Kara said nothing as her eyes met the floor.

Barbara looked over at her. "Is there a way to fix it?"

"I don't know," Kara said. "I first need to find her and I have no idea where to look. She's no longer bound by Hamilton because he's dead, so she can literally fly anywhere or be anywhere." Kara's voice broke and her face looked stricken.

"Are you okay?"

"He's dead."

"Who?"

"Emil."

"Hamilton? But I thought you hated him after what he did to you?"

"I saw him as my father."

That alarmed Barbara. "Wait, what?"

"Her father," Kara corrected quickly. "She saw him as her father."

"That is not what you said."

Kara closed her eyes. "Who am I?" she asked, only adding to the disturbed feeling Barbara was having.

The Kryptonian stood up sharply taking Barbara by surprise. She backed away as Kara's eyes went wide.

"I don't know who I am," she said rather loudly. "I don't know who I am," she repeated.

Barbara stood and stared open mouthed not knowing what to say. She knew that she should offer her friend her support, but she was too freaked out to speak let alone move. Instead, she stood there staring at her friend as she had a very real mental breakdown in front of her.

* * *

 **The Batcave**

 **Gotham City**

 **United States**

 **16:06 – EDT**

The substance Batman had found on the floor of Delina Gibson's house was not quite what he had expected. While there were traces of Kryptonite, it seemed that the substance; most likely transmitted in the form of a gas, was more to put the subject to sleep rather than kill them.

Still, Kryptonite in the lungs of anyone, let alone a Kryptonian was problematic. He had no idea if it could even be dissolved naturally inside a Kryptonian's body or if it could cause chronic conditions in them like asbestos did to humans.

Batman suspected that the Kryptonite was only in the gas to weaken the intended target enough for the gas to take hold quickly and knock them unconscious. Of course, it was evident that whoever devised it had no qualms about causing potential lasting damage.

He heard Alfred as he descended the steps into the cave.

"Master Bruce, you're up early," his butler and best friend said drolly with a hint of sarcasm.

"We might have a problem, Alfred."

"A problem, sir?"

"Someone has made a gas that is aimed specifically at Kryptonians."

"Oh dear, sir. Does Superman know?"

"Not yet, but he will. From what I can tell, it's nasty stuff. Sleeping gas lined with Kryptonite dust."

"Good grief."

"Exactly," Batman concurred. "This is dirty, Alfred and I intend to find out who is responsible for making it."

"I suspect that you already have an inkling?"

"Of course, but I need to ruffle someone's feathers."

Batman headed for the Batwing.

"Going for a flight, sir?"

"I'm going to Metropolis to speak with someone who recently moved there from Gotham."

"At a guess, that would be a Ms Amanda Waller," Alfred guessed.

Batman smirked. "You're learning Alfred."

"You have spoken of her before. She moved here to the east coast recently and as I recall you are also not particularly fond of her."

"I'm not fond of anyone."

"Of course, sir. Should I ready dinner for your return?"

"I might not be back tonight."

"Of course Master Bruce. I do hope you find what you seek."

"Don't worry, I will."

* * *

 **Park Ridge**

 **Gotham City**

 **United States**

 **16:09 – EDT**

Kara, was she Kara? She didn't know. It was like a void had opened up and she had fallen into it. There was no sense of self, no identity, nothing. She felt like she was looking through someone else's eyes. Her breath became laboured. She felt like she was suffocating.

Nothing made sense. The world around her seemed to fade away, her sole focus drawn inward as she tried to comprehend what was happening to her.

There was no sense to be found in any of it. Was she Kara? It was a question she had asked herself so many times now in the last few minutes that it had lost all meaning.

But if she wasn't Kara, then who was she? No, she had to be her, right? Who else could she possibly be other than herself? To think otherwise made no sense whatsoever.

So why did she not feel like herself? Why did she feel like she was a stranger? How could someone even feel like a stranger to themselves? It made no sense. Nothing made sense.

Was she even here, or was she somewhere else controlling this body like a puppet?

She heard a voice. It said something to her. She tried to focus to hear what it was saying.

She then heard the words. "Kara, are you okay?"

She hated that name. It wasn't even her name. What was her name? It was Galatea, wasn't it?

The voice spoke again. "Kara, you're scaring me."

"Don't call me that!" she screamed out into the void.

But she wasn't in a void. She was in a room and stood by the far wall looking stricken with concern and worry was Barbara.

The fog began to fade away, replaced by a feeling of mortification. Kara couldn't even begin to think how she must have looked.

"Sorry," was all Kara could think to say. "I don't know what came over me."

There was silence. It was clear that Barbara was freaked out and she couldn't blame her. She has freaked a little herself. Kara couldn't even comprehend what had just happened to her.

"I should go," Kara said turning for the front door.

She made her way to the front of the house and gripped the door handle. Barbara's voice stopped her.

"You should probably head back up to the Watchtower."

Kara nodded. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea."

"Shouldn't you contact them?"

"I left my communicator up there. I'll just fly to Metropolis."

"Are you sure? I could call Alfred."

"I'm sure. I need some fresh air, anyway."

Barbara opened the door and Kara stepped outside. Her mind was so clouded that she almost jumped into the air and flew off right outside her friend's front door.

After quickly realising and stopped herself, she walked off down the street, keeping her pace and her breathing measured.

At the first opportunity, she slipped into an alleyway before shooting off into the sky.

She should have been heading north-east towards Metropolis. Instead, she flew aimlessly. For some reason, the thought of heading to the Metrotower made her uneasy and she did not know why.

Eventually, she would go back. But for now, she needed time.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

 **Dakota City**

 **United States**

 **17:14 – EDT**

 **August 19, 2007**

There was a freedom in being able to soar high above the city. It was something that M'gann had never had, not that she could remember.

Her people could not fly, or at least they hadn't been able to under the biological and mental control of the Imperium. It had made a promise, but in doing so had also taken everything they were, everything they had been and perverted it, warped it into its own will.

M'gann. She didn't know where she had gotten the name, whether it was from before, though that made no sense. From before what?

There was little that she remembered from her time in the Imperium. She remembered the voices, not physical voices, but in her mind.

It had been like a dream world. There were flashes, distorted memories of what her life had been like, but one thing pushed everything else aside.

The want and lust of the Imperium. It had been all she knew. Its desire to conquer all, to control all.

There were times when she thought she could still feel the Imperium's presence in her mind. Whether it was like a phantom limb, an echo or whether she was actually sensing something, she had no idea.

At this moment, though, that was secondary to her current objective. She didn't know why, but she felt compelled to help Kara who currently believed she was her own clone, Galatea.

M'gann felt responsible for what had happened. It was her fault after all, but she had wanted to know if what she had been commanded to do was the right thing to do. To take a life, it went against her nature.

Didn't it? She didn't even know what her nature was.

Still, she didn't know, not really. She had seen the memories of both Kara and Galatea and had seen them both as they were. Two different people who were almost identical and not just genetically, but in who they were as people.

As for who she was trying to find? She had thus far not had much luck. Actually, she hadn't had any luck at all. Flying around clearly wasn't enough, she needed to do more.

She descended down from the sky slowly and landed in the middle of the street. A car skidded to a halt on narrowly avoiding missing her.

Even though he didn't say anything, she could almost hear the anger and fear radiating out of his mind. Anger for her nearly making him crash and fear for what she was going to do next.

What she did next was to walk over to the pavement where the pedestrians moved clear out of her way.

She could sense that people were unsure about her. Was she a friend or a foe? The answer to that didn't matter, all that mattered was getting the attention of Static who apparently had connections with the Justice League.

She herself had no real intention of going with Kara. She had no plans on being captured by anyone, even these so-called "good guys" as they apparently were.

All M'gann knew was what she had been told and what she had overheard, verbally or otherwise. These things conflicted with each other. Some felt they were a great threat, and others secretly believed that they were their only hope against what might lay beyond.

She didn't have any opinions on them, she simply didn't know them. What she did know was that she did feel guilty for Kara and Galatea and she was going to try and help put it right.

All she had wanted though, was to know.

The White Martian rounded a corner and continued up the street. People were paying her less attention now from when she had first landed, but a lot were still sending nervous glances her way.

It was clear why. They probably didn't see many green-skinned people in a blue cape walking around.

She decided to change that. Instead of walking, she decided to hover a few feet over their heads as she continued looking for the hero.

Still finding no success, she decided to try another method. She closed her eyes and focused, trying to seek out anyone unusual.

Instead, she found the chaotic minds of those around her, causing her face to scrunch up with pain. Quickly, she closed herself off and tried to slow her rapid breathing.

Looking around, she could see eyes on her, but still no sign of this town's hero. It looked like she would just have to try harder.

It was time to cause some trouble. Harmless trouble, of course. Or she would if she could figure out what exactly to do. Maybe if it wasn't quite so harmless, that would work better?

There was one thing that came to mind, something that would undoubtedly draw a lot of attention. It felt strange even considering it, but it was grotesque enough to work.

After a few more minutes of contemplation, she decided to go for it despite her reservations. She didn't want to, but it was almost guaranteed to draw attention.

With a deep inhalation of breath, her body began to transform. Tendrils erupted from her body and she began to bloat and turn translucent. Her innards turning into a cloudy angry red.

She had taken the form of the Imperium, the creature that had taken her kind and warped them into weak servants. It was the most disgusting form she could think of and one that had to get attention. There was no way anyone could ignore it.

Down below she could hear the shouts and screams as she floated overhead. Unlike the actual creature, the sun did not burn her flesh, but it still made her feel uncomfortable and not just because of the form she had taken, but because of what it had once meant.

Years ago the sun had meant death. One of the traits they had adopted. Now, it only meant discomfort.

The sound of sirens echoed in the air, followed the a whirling on the wind. A helicopter could be seen in the distance making its approach and it appeared the police were on their way.

It was attention, but not the kind she wanted. M'gann decided to leave the area, though maintain her current form. She accelerated, heading northward starting to think that the hero wouldn't show.

Then he did.

He was as described, flying over to her stood on some kind of metallic disk. She picked up the pace, leading him away from the cops and the city.

Down she descended into the trees, her mass getting smaller and smaller. Eventually, she landed in her green human form and waited as the hero, Static hovered overhead.

The hero in blue spoke. "Who are you and why are you messin' with my town?"

M'gann shouted up to him. "I need your help."

"Help?"

"I need you to contact the Justice League."

"What, I'm not a big enough challenge or something?"

"I don't want to fight them. Tell them that Kara is here. Also, tell them that I want the Green Martianto meet me at Delina Gibson's house. Only him."

"Who's house?"

"The one that's roof was caved in."

"Oh, that one. Was that you?"

"No, it wasn't. Now contact them."

"Well, there's a problem. I can't contact them. I have a friend who can, but he's busy."

"Just try and get in contact with them by tonight."

"Yeah, sure. You ain't gonna cause more trouble, right?"

"No, I just wanted your attention."

"You'd better not be lying, or else I'll have to kick your ass."

M'gann didn't answer. She just turned and began to walk away.

"Hey, where ya goin'?"

"I told you what I want," she called back. She then stopped looking around. "Or do I have to kick _your_ ass?"

"You better not try anything. This city is under my protection."

She knew that she had to convince him that she wasn't a threat. "I just want to talk to the Justice League, that's all. I promise I'm not here to cause trouble. I need their help."

Static eyed her suspiciously. "Okay, sure, I'll do it. But I better not see you causin' trouble or you'll be the one in trouble." With that final warning, he turned around and flew off on his disk back towards the city. M'gann had taken a peek into his mind and apart from the usual thoughts that plagued a young man's mind, she believed that she could trust him as far as contacting the league went.

Now she would return to Kara and Delina, inform them that she had set up a meeting and then go to it.

She just hoped that the Green Martian had figured out what she had and that their memories had been swapped, not their minds. If he hadn't then this could end badly.

* * *

 **Metro Tower**

 **United States**

 **17:28 – EDT**

Amanda Waller was rather comfortable with her new role. She had gotten what she wanted, which was more oversight of the league and a position where she could scrutinise their actions and perhaps even influence them.

It was a shame that this also went for other countries as well, with them building league towers across the globe, but she believed that the US had an edge and that edge was her.

Waller looked up from her computer screen as the door slid open. She wasn't surprised to see that it was Batman that had dared barge in uninvited.

"What do you want?" she demanded as the door slid shut behind him.

Her office lay on the fifty-first floor of the Metrotower, across from a representative from Canada and next to the one from Mexico.

Batman stood there, his eyes narrowing. "Kryptonite lined sleeping gas."

"An idea you're running past me? I doubt Superman would approve."

"What do you know about it?" he questioned, clearly in a bad mood. Then again, when wasn't he?

"You assume I know something," she commented, looking back down at her emails.

"You know something."

"I know that the idea was being tossed around. It was rejected."

"Why?"

"Not enough uses. A brick of the stuff is more effective against Kryptonians and costs nothing to manufacture. We already have tons of it in storage."

"Well someone decided it was worthwhile."

"That's nice," Waller said with disinterest. "Now that you've informed me, you can see yourself out."

"If I find out that you are withholding information that could put any member of this league at risk, then you'll wish you hadn't left Cadmus."

She stood up sharply. "You don't scare me. Now get out."

Batman turned and left without another word. Waller sat herself back down heavily, the chair letting out a loud creak in protest.

She closed her web browser, thus her email and locked the computer. She opened her top drawer and pulled out her cell phone and stared at it.

It was within her power to make the call. To release the information she had on Batman and Bruce Wayne. All she had to do was make one phone call.

She closed the drawer shut. She would not do it, not because of some sort of respect or because it was the noble thing to do, but because she needed Batman right where he was with his identity intact.

He was too important.

* * *

 **Watchtower II**

 **Earth Orbit**

 **16:40 – Station Time**

Kara was gone. Well, it was Galatea that was gone, but she believed she was Kara and she had still left the Watchtower without permission.

Superman was worried. Not for Galatea, but rather that he believed that her mind could lead him to the real Kara.

All they had to go on was a message from Alfred saying that he had received a call from Barbara saying that Kara had been there before freaking out and leaving.

Apparently, she had said that she was heading to the Metro Tower, but she had never shown Gotham to Metropolis wasn't even a thirty minute flight. It wasn't five if she was flying fast, so where had she got to?

J'onn didn't believe that she had remembered who she was, but believed that she might have become confused. Superman didn't care, he just wanted her found so that he could use what was in her head to find Kara and help her.

They needed a lead.

Thankfully they got it.

It was J'onn who arrived with the news. Superman was sat in the founder's conference room in silence when the doors opened and the Martian stepped inside.

"I hope whatever you came to tell me is good news?" Superman asked hopefully.

"Indeed."

"You've found her?"

"Not the clone, but perhaps Kara herself."

Superman stood up sharply the force of his palms almost breaking the table. "Where?"

"Dakota City. It appears that the telepath that caused all of this wishes to speak to me and only me."

"I'm coming too."

"Ill-advised," J'onn said. "She might sense your presence."

"I need to know that Kara is okay."

"Kara believes she is Galatea, remember?" J'onn pointed out.

"It's a trap," Superman said. "It has to be. I'm going with you. If she doesn't like it, then it's too bad. Together we can subdue her and make her take us to Kara."

J'onn did not like it, but he accepted. "Very well. We are supposed to meet her at a Delina Gibson's house."

"You know who that is?" Superman asked.

"Not yet," J'onn answered.

"We'll have to look up who she is and where she lives, then."

"Don't bother," came Batman's voice from the door as it slid open. "I know where it is and you're not going anywhere near it, Clark."

"You can't stop me," Superman said.

"How about the fact that there's powdered Kryptonite there? The house was assaulted by unknown agents. My bet is on Cadmus."

Superman pointed out. "Cadmus no longer exists."

"Not as a single entity, no. But it still exists."

"Why did they need Kryptonite?" Superman asked warily.

"Because they were expecting that Galatea might show up and were prepared. But she didn't."

"No, because she was up here," Superman said. "Thinking she was Kara."

"Yes, however, I found blood at the scene. Kara's blood."

Superman made his way towards the door. "We can't waste any more time. She's hurt, we have to help her."

The Man of Steel strode out of the room, both J'onn and the Dark Knight followed up close to his rear.

The Dark Knight spoke up, "I will send you down to the coordinates. The house is easy to find, it's been heavily damaged. I suggest allowing J'onn to make contact and for you to keep your distance."

"I can't, this is Kara we're talking about."

"I know, but the Kryptonite is in a powdered form. If you happen to inhale it, it could do serious damage."

Superman kept his pace up as he answered. "Then I'll wear a gas mask. We have some in the locker by the teleporter."

J'onn asked a question. "Will the filters be able to block it?"

"Yes," came Batman's response.

"Then it's settled," Superman said.

* * *

 **Dakota City**

 **United States**

 **17:52 – EDT**

The wood of the house groaned as dust fell down the large hole into the basement.

M'gann had arrived only moments prior and already she was feeling nervous. She still didn't quite understand the world, but she had managed to glean a lot of information from both Kara's and Galatea's mind. That information had given her insight into how the world out here worked and also on how what she had done was not only wrong but seen as reprehensible.

It was kinda funny because back at the facility she was being trained to look into people's minds and even tear them apart if she was commanded to. At the start, she had fully intended to fulfil her mission, even after she had dealt with the strange device they had unnecessarily implanted in the base of her skull she had intended on completing it. She knew the others would fail so she had intended on finishing what they were unable to.

What she had seen in their minds, though, was a completely different point of view. Kara's point of view, in particular, reminded her of a man's who had been at the facility near the beginning. His had been the first mind that she had looked into and she had seen her first glimpse of the world as it really was.

He, of course, had been reassigned elsewhere and numerous others had taken his place, the last one being the particularly nasty man that went by the name Hugo Strange, who tried to get into her mind and take it apart.

She had seen into his mind but it had been only briefly. Often there were safeguards in place that dimmed her abilities. He was the kind that got what he wanted no matter who he had to hurt to get it. There had been a logic to the way his mind worked. The optimal outcome should be sought after and anything that threatened that should be pushed or forced aside.

M'gann focused as she felt the presence of the Green Martian's mind. He was here, but he was not alone. The Kryptonian, Superman was here as well. Already they had failed to do what she had asked, but she knew she was far from being in a position to do anything about it.

Both approached through the gap in the roof. The Green Martian looked as he always did with green skin and a blue cape. Her own outfit was somewhat inspired by his after she had been shown images of him. She went for a more human appearance, though as she found the more human she looked, the nicer the people at the facility were towards her. Most of them anyway.

Superman was dressed in his typical blue and red but was also sporting a stylish gas mask. Well, as stylish as gas masks could be.

The Man of Steel was also the one who spoke first. "Where is she?" he demanded, his voice muffled behind the mask.

M'gann tried to read him, but she could feel Martian Manhunter blocking her.

She quickly gave up and began to hover off the ground. "Follow me," she said taking to the air.

They followed closely as she took them out of the city, Superman taking off the gas mask as they went. She noted that there were two more unwanted guests, Static and someone else who had decided to tag along, albeit from a distance.

That was where M'gann drew the line. She slowed to a stop. "Get rid of them," she said.

J'onn already knew who she was talking about. "I will catch the two of you up after I have told Static and Gear not to interfere." He flew over to the distance where the two were.

Superman watched him go then turned to M'gann. "This better not be a trap," he warned.

"No trap," M'gann said as she continued on into the forest beyond where she descended down along with Superman to the parked car where Kara waited.

Kara who believed she was her own clone looked up at him with a sneer. "Great, it's you."

"Kara," he said as he softly landed.

Kara rolled her eyes in response. "I would beat you up for calling me that, but I'm not feeling up to it."

"The Kryptonite dust," Superman commented knowing that was the reason why she was in her current state.

"More like gas, but yeah," Kara mused. "I'm guessing you have allergy cream or something I can use that will fix me right up?"

Superman clenched his jaw. "We're taking you up to the Watchtower."

"I don't have much choice do I?"

Superman nodded. He hated the thought that she believed she was Galatea. They had to fix that and they had to do it quickly as well as whatever damage the Kryptonite may have done to her.

The dark skinned woman spoke up. "What about me and my son?"

Superman looked at her. "You're free to go."

"Go where?" she asked. "Sorry, but my home was attacked. Neither I or my son have anywhere to go that's safe."

"Sorry, but I can't help you," Superman said.

Kara smirked in a way that looked alien on her face. "There's the Justice League I know about. Only willing to help when they know they'll get loads of media coverage and a pat on the back."

"Kara." His tone was more one of sadness than anything else.

M'gann spoke up. "I will look after them."

Superman shot her a glare. "You're coming with us before you cause any more damage."

"So," Kara said folding her arms. "You're going to leave two civilians in need all alone to fend for themselves?"

Superman was uncertain what to do. He didn't like the idea of having this civilian and her son on the Watchtower.

Delina spoke. "We need help," she pleaded. "I don't even know why they came after us, except because of Galatea."

"Don't blame me," Kara said.

Their attention was drawn to J'onn as he arrived and landed by the car. Superman quickly filled him in on the situation.

J'onn made the decision almost immediately. "We cannot leave them here in the woods. It would be prudent to bring them with us."

"Then we will," Superman said.

M'gann decided to speak up in protest. "What if I don't want to go with you?"

"You either come with us willingly, or we take you in. Either way, you're coming with us."

She made her decision, which quickly turned out to be the wrong one. She flew up quickly into the air but didn't get far. A hand gripped her ankle painfully and she found herself being thrown by Superman back down to the ground where she impacted hard.

She climbed out of the small imprint in the dirt only to have Martian Manhunter grab her from behind and hold her still.

"We mean you no harm," the Green Martian said.

Superman landed in front of her, his arms folded.

"Fine," she accepted. "I'll come with you."

Superman contacted the Watchtower and within moments the six of them were gone as the teleporter snatched them away.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

 **Watchtower II**

 **Earth Orbit**

 **17:51 – Station Time**

 **August 19, 2007**

Zari Tarin sat alone in the cafeteria with her tray of half-eaten food. Making friends was proving to be a little difficult. It was mostly her fault she could accept that. She tended to glare at people who looked at her and didn't reach out. Instead, she kept to herself.

As she nursed her food, she noted from the corner of her eye that someone had sat down. She looked up to see that it was Hawkman and he was looking at her with a smile.

She scowled back in return.

Unperturbed, he spoke. "So, you must be Zari."

"Yeah," she managed.

"It's nice that Shayera has taken you under her wing."

"Yes," she replied as she scooped up some of the now cold food and put it in her mouth.

"I am Katar Hol," he introduced himself. "Hawkman."

"Zari Tarin," she replied keeping her head down. "Farmgirl."

"It's nice to meet you. Not many Thanagarians around."

She glanced up at him. "So, you Shayera's brother or something?" Zari questioned.

He looked puzzled. "No, I'm not. What made you think that?"

"Shayera Hol, Katar Hol. The same last name."

He chuckled. "I can see the confusion. No, I am a human reincarnation of Katar Hol."

She stared at him. "What human? Does that mean your wings aren't natural?"

"No. They are made of Nth metal."

Then she realised what he had actually said. "Hold on, you're reincarnated?" That seemed beyond insane to her.

"Yes," he said as though it wasn't a big deal. "I discovered this during an expedition to Egypt a few years back. I encountered a device, an Absorbacron."

"You mean Absorbascon?" Zari questioned.

"No, a far older model. Over two-thousand years older."

"So you zapped your brain and now you think you're Thanagarian?"

His mouth turned to a thin line. "You sound like Shayera."

She fell silent not wanting to push him away. In a strange way, he reminded her of her father.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"No, I understand. It's hard to grasp," he accepted. "Took a few years for me to come to terms with it myself."

She nodded before standing up with her tray. She wanted to get out of there before she made it any worse.

"You're going so soon?" he asked.

"I've finished," she said quickly moving over to the trash and dispensing the scraps that were left before sliding the tray through to wherever it was they ended up.

She quickly left heading back to her room, hoping to not bump into anyone else.

It was now clear that her time both isolated in the woods with Danny and being captured and held had not done her any favours. She felt antsy around people, nervous. Something she had never felt back at the farm.

Then again she had known everyone there in that community. Here, she knew no one. Except for Shayera and even then she barely knew her either.

Finding the safety of the room she was staying in, she entered and made her way straight to the window. In some ways, she would prefer to be down there in the woods again than be up here.

Well, apart from the cold winters, the water that tasted horrible, the roof that kept on developing leaks amongst a lot of other things.

In retrospect, no, actually she wouldn't prefer to still be in the woods. She just wished that she was better able to reach out to people here.

Zari didn't know how long she was stood there when her door buzzer went off, but it felt like she had been there forever, just watching the planet slowly move beneath her.

She turned for the door and opened it. Stood on the other side was John Stewart, the Green Lantern guy.

"Can we talk?" he asked.

She wanted to say no, but instead, she said nothing. He took that as an invitation and stepped inside, switching the light on as he did so. She moved away from the door and it closed behind them.

She noticed that he looked tired and had what appeared to be ash on his face.

He noticed her staring and rubbed it, seeing the dirt in his palm. "Forest fire," he said. "Contained now."

He took a long look around the room before focusing back on Zari. "We need to talk."

"About what?"

"First I need to say sorry, kid," John apologised. "About before. Regarding the things I said."

That took her by surprise. Was he actually apologising? He didn't seem like the type. It made her instantly suspicious of his motivations.

He continued. "I haven't spoken to Shayera about this yet, but you're going to have to make a decision."

"Decision?" Zari asked unsurely. "About what?"

"Whether you want to train under me as a Lantern or under her."

"Why not both?"

"That's not how this works, Zari," he told her. "Think about it."

He turned and left as quickly as he had come, leaving her feeling somewhat confused. Why did she need to be trained anyway? She was a farm girl not a fighter.

Though she had to admit, that the power ring had been pretty amazing. She had never felt anything like it. The problem with training to be a Green Lantern, though, would be having to spend time with John Stewart and she didn't like that idea one bit.

She would do what he had suggested and think about it. Personally, she would like to have her father's axe back and she hoped that she could convince Shayera to help her get it.

If she couldn't, then she would just have to get John Stewart to teach her some things. Then her, along with the ring would get her father's axe back.

One way or another.

* * *

 **18:40 – Station Time**

Clark Kent had to be at the Daily Planet tomorrow, right now, however, Superman was aboard the Watchtower watching J'onn try to deal with an overly hostile Kara who thought she was Galatea.

He had stepped out of the room as he was unable to handle it. It was upsetting to see her like that, believing that she was someone else especially when that person was the antithesis of who they were as heroes.

It also made him question whether J'onn was right. What if they had actually switched bodies? What if the woman in the room with J'onn was the clone in Kara's body?

There was also the damage that had been done with the Kryptonite that she had inhaled. It had not only weakened her but according to the doctors she had scarring and irritation.

Superman moved towards the door as J'onn stepped out. "Anything?" the Man of Steel asked.

"Follow me out of earshot."

"She's Kryptonian," Superman reminded him.

"Her powers are not functioning," J'onn replied. "She is essentially human right now."

With that, Superman followed J'onn further down the hallway where the Martian began. "She is just like her clone. False memories have taken the place of her real ones. But I believe it's all starting to come back."

"Come back? How?"

"Think of it like a sort of amnesia," J'onn explained.

That didn't help Superman understand it. "But amnesia makes you forget things."

"Yes, but that gap has been replaced by other memories that aren't hers."

"And you think she'll start to remember who she is? But won't she still have the clone's memories?"

"I believe her mind will start to reject the false memories as her own become more prominent. Her memories as Galatea are hollow, just as Galatea's memories as Kara were. I told you they were like a backdrop in a stage play."

"You seem sure."

"If she was Martian, then I would be. But she's not, so I'm not certain."

"Things like this happened on Mars?"

"It was not common. Sometimes accidents did happen when minds became interlocked. Usually not to this extent, however."

"We just need to keep an eye on her. Better than having Galatea up here at least."

J'onn nodded. "Yes. I will be watching over her for now, but within the hour John has agreed to keep an eye on her."

Superman nodded. "Keep her safe J'onn."

"I will. Are you heading back down to Metropolis?"

"Soon, yes. I'll tell you what, I'll watch over her until John gets here. You can head home."

"If you are certain."

"I am, J'onn. You've been working hard for hours now. Get some rest."

"Thank you and good evening."

"Good evening."

J'onn turned and left. Superman made his way back to the room and stepped inside. Kara turned and looked at him. "Clark?" she asked sounding like her old self. Her face then scrunched up and her eyes seemed to change and she turned a little hostile "What do you want?" she demanded.

"I'm keeping an eye on you," Superman said. "How are you?"

"My lungs hurt."

"According to the doctor, your lungs are full of Kryptonite and some of it has been absorbed into your bloodstream."

"Get it out then!"

"You've already expelled most of it with coughing. What has entered your bloodstream is apparently being filtered out through your Kidneys. Don't worry, they said you should make a full recovery."

"You only care because I'm in her body."

"I care because you are Kara, even if you don't know it."

"Whatever. Are you gonna stand there and bug me all night?"

"Just for another hour or so before Green lantern comes to take over."

Her response was oozing with sarcasm. "Great."

Superman said nothing. He just wanted the old Kara back.

* * *

 **18:50 – Station Time**

The Batman stared at M'gann and she stared right back.

She was in a containment cell of some kind and while it wasn't as nice as the one back down in the facility, she couldn't complain.

Well, maybe she could a little.

A door opened. She didn't see it, but she could hear it. She could also sense the presence of his mind. It seemed Batman could too because he didn't break eye contact with her as he spoke.

"I thought you were returning home, J'onn?"

The Green Martian came into view as he moved beside Batman. "I decided to pay our guest a visit before I go."

M'gann already knew the question that was coming. She decided to pre-emptively answer it. "No, I am not a Green Martian."

Batman's gaze hardened. "Reading our minds?"

"I don't need to," came her response.

Batman pushed on with his questioning. "What was your mission? Who are you with?"

She decided to just be honest. There was no point in lying. "Colonel Rick Flag sent me with a team to kill Galatea, Emil Hamilton and Pauline Lester."

"So it was Task Force X that was behind it," Batman growled.

J'onn asked the next question. "Why enter her mind?"

"I was intending on just reading it, but I dove too deep."

"You were inexperienced," J'onn commented. "And the reason you attacked Kara's mind?"

"That was completely unintentional. I had no idea her mind was connected to another."

J'onn was unimpressed. "You were testing your skills, only it went wrong."

She looked away. She didn't like their accusing gazes.

The Green Martian continued. "You have messed with two people's minds and scrambled their memories."

"I wanted to know if she was dangerous!" M'gann shouted out. "I had to know before I completed the mission. I knew the others would fail, so I took it into my own hands."

Batman folded his arms. "So you were intending on completing the mission?"

"It was what I was told to do."

J'onn asked a question of his own. "And what did you find in her mind?"

"Galatea?"

"Yes," J'onn confirmed. "Do you still believe killing her is the right thing to do?"

"I don't know. I saw her mind, I saw both of their minds. They've both had such different lives from one another and they've definitely had a different life than I have. Galatea was jealous of Kara of her freedom. She is fighting programming, fighting a nature that was forced on her. She is an angry person, but so is Kara. Kara has been able to control it, though, to subdue it. Galatea is still learning how to live."

"Are you learning how to live?" J'onn questioned. "Or are you waiting like a good drone ready to strike in the name of your master?"

Batman was surprised by this. He looked at J'onn not knowing what he was referring to. "Something you want to tell me?"

The Green Martian kept his gaze on her and she kept her gaze on him. She wanted to look away but held her ground. He knew what she was. He had figured it out.

"J'onn," Batman repeated more loudly.

"She is one of them," he said taking a step back. "I had dared hope that you had all been destroyed. You are the one that they were holding, the one those at Cadmus called a White Martian. But I know what you are. You are an Imperium drone."

"Doubtful," Batman commented. "We found her in full sunlight in one of the hottest most desolate places in the world. The Imperium drones could barely manage Metropolis sunlight without dying."

J'onn turned away. "I no longer wish to be in the same room as this thing." He left, leaving her once again alone with Batman.

The Dark Knight regarded her for a few moments before asking the question. "Is it true?"

"That the Justice League slaughtered my people without a second thought as to whether they were slaves to the Imperium? Yes, it's true."

"So the form you're holding now is a disguise?"

"Like the Green Martian? Yes, but unlike him, I at least try to look more human."

"Why?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why make yourself look more human?"

He thought he had her, but the answer was easy. "Because people treated me better the more human I looked."

"But why green? Why emulate J'onn's outfit?"

The truth was that she felt guilty. She could also understand J'onn, understand that loneliness of knowing there was literally no one else, that he was the last of his kind like she was.

M'gann had also felt this within Kara. She had seen her people die. Kara had been there as the planet Argo fell into the eternal winter.

It took her a moment to realise she hadn't answered the question, nor was she comfortable answering it.

"I'm tired," she told him, hoping that he would go away.

"Answer my question and I'll leave," came his unwanted response.

"I'm surprised you noticed," she said regarding her choice of outfit. "Those down at the facility didn't. They only noticed the skin and hair colour, not what I was wearing."

She turned to face him. There was something dark about him and it unsettled her. Even so, she doubted he had been through anything even close to what she had been through.

Memories of her life up until the defeat of the Imperium was nothing but flashes. She felt like she had had a life before that, though. Something from long ago.

But that was not possible, was it?

"You really want to know why?" she asked him. Batman said nothing but continued to stare. "Because I feel like he's the only connection I have to my own kind. Of how we used to be. Happy?"

He glowered before turning and leaving. The moment the door shut she sighed a breath of relief.

She moved over to the bed in the corner and laid down on it. Even though she didn't sleep the same as humans, she had grown accustomed to laying down and closing her eyes when she entered her meditation cycle. It had freaked people out a lot less than when she had sat there with her eyes open staring into space.

M'gann had no real clue as to what was going to happen next. Honestly, she doubted it would be any worse than it had been down at the facility with the constant tests, the prodding and the probing.

She didn't exactly know what to expect from this Justice League. Back at the facility, people were outwardly distrustful, but a lot were more internally grateful that they existed.

Regardless, she was trapped here, at least for now. But she planned on getting out of here somehow.

She just didn't know how yet.

* * *

 **Airfield**

 **Fifty Miles East of San Francisco**

 **United States**

 **18:40 - PDT**

Huntress moved silently, not that she really had to. The airfield seemed almost abandoned with only a few personnel here and there.

Normally, she would have thought it was just another civilian landing strip out in the middle of nowhere, but Vic thought something else was afoot here, mainly because the strip was abandoned and not supposed to be in use at all.

She pushed the door open to the main office to find that Question was already in there operating the computer.

"How the hell did you get here so fast?" she asked him.

He didn't look up from the screen as he answered, though not the question she had asked. "As I suspected. A plane both arrived from and left for New Mexico yesterday. It was also the only aircraft to touch down on the strip."

She knew where this was going. "So, you want to drive all the way to New Mexico?"

The Question didn't get the chance to answer. At least not right away. The door opened behind them and a man stepped into the room.

Before he had the chance to even realise what was going on, Huntress had smacked him in the jaw with a roundhouse kick, knocking himout. His limp body crashed hard against the floor.

The Question casually rose up from where he sat. "Try not to kill anyone, Helena."

She crouched down and felt his pulse. "He's fine," she commented as she dragged his unconscious form further into the room.

"Let's go before anyone else comes," the Question uttered, moving past her and out of the door.

She followed as the two sneaked through the hallway and past a guard who stood kicking a vending machine which was refusing to drop what he had paid for.

Once outside, they quickly ran for a slight embankment and climbed over it and down to where the Question had left his car. The two climbed in and he started the engine.

"So," Huntress began, "We heading straight there, or are we stopping off at a motel for the night?"

"Still early," was his response.

She knew what that meant. They would be driving into the night. It would be easier to deal with if he was more of a conversationalist, but he tended to keep to himself. When he did talk, it was usually about some conspiracy.

"One question, Q?" Huntress said as they set off. "What do we do once we get there?"

His response didn't fill her with confidence. "I haven't thought that far ahead."

"Couldn't we use the Justice League's teleporter to get us there faster?"

"Get where?" he asked right back. "We don't even know where in New Mexico they are. I know where the old Cadmus headquarters were located, but it was obliterated."

"You must have some idea if we're driving there?" she pointed out.

He glanced at her. Or at least she thought he did. It was hard to tell while he was wearing his mask. "Perhaps," he commented.

"For the love of-" she muttered before facing him. "If you know something, can you tell me? I'm getting really sick of being left in the dark."

"I have some inclination, but nothing solid."

"Can you at least tell me what you're thinking?"

"If I don't tell you, then I can't be wrong."

"You are infuriating," she said sitting back in the seat, looking forward. "Once this is done, whatever it is we're doing, we're both going on vacation."

"Sure."

She looked at him in surprise. "Are you agreeing with me?"

"Perhaps."

"Well, I'm picking where we take it. Somewhere warm. And you're gonna switch your brain off, take off that mask and have some fun."

"Sounds delightful."

"That better not be sarcasm."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

"Now that was sarcasm," she concluded rolling her eyes. "Trust me, you're always so wound up. You need to relax."

"Calling the kettle," he muttered.

"Be glad you're driving," Huntress said smiling at the thought of the pain she was going to inflict later.

Not that she would.

* * *

 **Flying Grayson's Athletics Club**

 **Gateway City**

 **United States**

 **23:35 – PDT**

Going to bed before six in the morning still felt strange to Dick Grayson, but the late nights and early mornings were wrecking him.

Sleep didn't come easily, though. He tossed and turned for maybe an hour or two before he finally managed to drift off.

His mind conjured up a dream, one that felt strangely real. He was in a large room and something loud was banging against the steel door.

It took a moment for him to realise that he wasn't alone in the room. Beside him on his left stood Batman and Batgirl. On his right was Starfire and Mr Freeze.

The steel door ahead began to buckle under the stress of whoever or whatever was on the other side. Dick readied himself for the fight to come.

Finally, the door was torn free of its hinges as strange, demonic-like creatures began to swarm in.

Instantly, the group jumped into action. Batarangs flew from Batman's hand, Batgirl planted her feet hard into a demon's chest, knocking it down, Dick, dressed as Robin used a Bo-staff while Starfire used her starbolts and Freeze used his ice gun.

It was barely controlled chaos. The demonic creatures were both quick and tough, one managing to knock Batman down onto his back.

Quickly Robin kicked the creature in the side of the head causing it to roll over, releasing its grip of the Dark Knight.

Whatever they were, they kept on coming. They were relentless and quickly they found themselves beginning to grow tired.

"Fall back," Batman managed.

But there was nowhere to fall back to. Sounds of claws scratching on metal could be heard behind them from their only other exit.

With nowhere left to go, Starfire shouted out. "Cover your heads."

With that, she flew up and began to pound hard on the ceiling. Huge chunks of debris collapsed down until water began to trickle through the cracks.

Freeze then went down without so much as a whimper. His glass helmet shattered as the creatures clawed at his face. In an instant, Batman had rushed over and kicked the offending demons off, but it was pointless, Freeze was dead and more were rushing over.

The trickling water above grew into a disgusting brown flow as Starfire broke through. Using their grapples and flight, the four managed to escape through the hole as Victor Fries' body was torn to pieces below.

The four moved quickly through the large sewer system. They could hear the wails of the damned behind them.

"We have to give Barry and Michael more time to finish the device," Batman uttered.

Dick heard his own more youthful voice reply. "I think we're doing a pretty good job keeping them distracted so far."

"We're running for our lives," Starfire pointed out.

Batgirl added. "And we lost Freeze."

Dick winced. "Batman told him to stay at the base, but he insisted."

Batgirl was unimpressed. "He's still dead, Dick."

Batman interjected. "We don't have the time for this. We need to survive long enough to get back."

Batgirl added, "Yeah, well let's hope Oliver's team is doing a little better."

As they rounded a bend, Dick found himself being knocked roughly to the ground. He barely had a chance to understand that it was one of the demonic creatures that had pinned him when he felt its claws pierce his abdomen.

That was when he was awoken by a muffled cry coming from Starfire's room. He pushed the covers aside and leapt out of bed.

He pushed the door open and turned on the light to find her sat up in bed in her nightgown clutching her covers.

"What's wrong?" he asked moving over to her.

She looked away as she answered. "I-I had a bad dream."

"A bad dream?" he repeated. He knew it was unlikely that they were having even remotely the same dream, but there was something about how real it felt that unnerved him. "What was the dream about?"

How she answered made his gut turn to ice. "We were being chased by these creatures in the sewers. You were attacked by one."

He stared at her and she stared back. It was clear that there was something wrong here. People didn't share dreams. He honestly wondered if there was some malicious intent here from an old enemy of his.

Starfire realised why he was staring at her. "You had the same dream, didn't you?"

"Things like this don't happen," he said.

"Have you had other dreams of when we were younger?"

"Only once. But they can't be when we were younger. We didn't know each other."

"I've been having dreams for years," she told him. "Of you, of our team of things that never happened."

He didn't know whether to be disturbed by that or not. "You've been dreaming about us? Before we met?"

"Yes."

"For how long?"

"Years."

"Years?"

"They were uncommon. Until recently."

Dick sat down on the end of her bed. "So that's why you approached me on the Watchtower. That's why you followed me, that's why you're here now."

"Partially," she admitted.

"We'll talk about this tomorrow," he said after checking the clock. It was half-two in the morning.

"You're not mad at me, are you?"

"Of course not," he said. "Just confused and a little disturbed. I don't know what it means. I might have to call Bruce."

"Who is that?"

"A friend," he told her secretively.

"And who are Barry and Michael?" she asked him.

Those were the two names that Batman had said in the dream. "I don't know," he answered honestly.

"What about Batgirl and Mister Freeze?"

"Batgirl retired and Freeze is one of the bad guys."

"He was working with us in the dream," she pointed out.

"I know. I guess whatever we were facing was big enough for him to join us." It took a moment for him to realise what he had said. Join them in what? Whatever was happening in these dreams had never happened.

He stood back up. "Like I said, we'll talk about this tomorrow. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," she said back.

He switched the light off and closed the door before making his way back to his own room.

He didn't know what to make of tonight. He just hoped his head was clearer in the morning.


	21. Chapter 21

**Thanks for the reviews and sorry for not following the schedule (if you even noticed I had one) My goal is to try and post every Wednesday and Saturday and I was keeping up until recently. Anyway, onto the chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-One**

 **Somewhere Over the Pacific**

 **Between 02:00 – 04:00**

 **August 20, 2007**

The Kryptonian clone hovered there up high in the sky staring across the endless ocean. Her mind was in disarray. Memories from two different people filled her head making her feel lost, confused.

She tried to focus on Kara's memories, but she found them to be hollow as though they were mere snapshots, echoes of actual memories. Galatea's memories, on the other hand, seemed to have more substance.

Who was she?

The thought had hit her hard when she was at Barbara's place. She was in the clone body, but she had assumed that she was Kara, that their minds had been swapped.

That was what J'onn had believed when he had spoken to her out in the desert.

If that was the case, then why did all of her memories as Kara feel so fake, whereas her coming memories as Galatea seemed so real? Her mind was a mess and she had no idea how to fix it.

Her original intention had been to head to the Metro Tower, but she hadn't. The reason why was obvious but she didn't want to accept it.

Her frustration built up and she screamed out into the abyss, her voice echoing across the sky. It didn't help.

She thought of Clark and felt nothing. If anything she felt anger. She thought of Emil Hamilton and felt a sense of great loss.

What did that mean? Who was she? Again, the answer was obvious but she didn't want to accept it.

Jealousy. She felt it when she thought of Kara. Emptiness was what she felt when she thought of Galatea.

Was she both or was she neither? The answer that she kept coming to, she didn't want to accept.

She needed to talk to someone, but there was no one left that she could talk to.

Emil was dead.

This both infuriated and made her feel empty. There was no reason for them to do what they had done.

The worst part was that she knew it was her fault. She was the reason he was dead.

"Why?" she asked the void.

No answer came, nor was she expecting one. Perhaps the acceptance that she was not Kara, but Galatea was an answer in its self.

She so wished that she was. That their minds truly had been swapped, but it was clear they hadn't. Like a thick fog lifting, the world began to gain clarity.

She hated Kara for what she had. Galatea had nothing and she had everything. Friends, people who saw her as family, security. All Galatea had now was the clothes on her back.

And of course her powers.

Even with those she knew she couldn't take her revenge on Rick Flag and Cadmus, or Project Ultima or whatever they called themselves now. She would need help even if it meant making a deal.

The question was who did she make a deal with? There were powerful people out there such as Sinestro or Star Sapphire, but they were also unreliable. She needed someone that needed her, even if they didn't know it yet. Someone that could also get things done.

She had an idea, but that would require her crossing the US. Still, if it didn't work out, nothing would be lost.

Clenching her fists she turned around and began her journey to the mainland.

* * *

 **Watchtower II**

 **Earth Orbit**

 **07:31 – Station Time**

Shayera Hol stepped into the Founder's conference room where John Stewart was waiting for her. He wanted to talk to her about something and while she would rather not, she knew she had to maintain an air of professionalism even when it came to her.

"You wanted to see me?" she said as the doors slid shut behind her.

"It's about Zari."

"What about her?" Shayera questioned folding her arms.

"I'm considering training her as a Green Lantern."

"Why are you telling me? You don't need my permission."

"I know," he said. "I spoke to her last night I told her that she was going to have to make a decision about who trains her, me or you."

"Trains her?" Shayera questioned. "That assumes she wants to join the Justice League or the Green Lanterns? But go on."

"I know that. It's just that she said something."

"What was that?"

"Why not both of us? I dismissed it at the time, but thinking on it, it might not be such a bad idea."

"It's her decision," Shayera said. "I'll be more than happy to show her what I know."

"I know it's her ring chose her, so I have to give her a chance to prove herself."

"So, how do you want to do this?" Shayera asked him. "In turns or actually together?" She was hoping he said turns.

He did. "I say that we alternate. I'll be able to have Hirunan and Kyle take most of the slack in the training while I'm busy at my tower in Brazil. How are you going to go about it?"

"We have a training room in all the towers. I can train her easy enough."

"It's a plan," John agreed. "You want to start today?"

"I can start tomorrow," she told him. "I need at least some prep time."

"Then we start this tomorrow," he agreed.

"If she agrees," Shayera amended.

"Of course."

"Let's go tell her."

* * *

 **07:42 – Station Time**

Zari Tarin hadn't slept well. She didn't really know why. Maybe it was the thought of her father's axe being in the hands of aliens. Maybe it was the thrum of the station that was constantly there, never going away or maybe it was the thought of her being alone.

She stood there staring out of the window down at the Earth below. It was a rather beautiful world, she had to admit. Though, she honestly hadn't seen that many planets from orbit.

Her door chime sounded. She knew it was probably Shayera so she headed straight for the door and opened it.

Stood on the other side was Shayera as expected. What wasn't expected was that John was with her.

Shayera spoke first. "Let's go for a walk."

"Sure," Zari agreed as she stepped out into the corridor to join them.

As the three of them set off, John spoke. "Both Shayera and I have been talking. If you want to be trained by both of us, then I believe we can make it work."

Zari thought for a moment. This was actually a better outcome than she had dared hope. "When do we start?" she asked enthusiastically.

Shayera answered. "Tomorrow. I'll come and get you and bring you down to the tower in Lagos. Then Wednesday John and the other Lanterns will be teaching you things."

"What about today?" Zari asked. "Why can't we start today?"

John answered. "We both need at least a little time to prepare our training programmes."

The three of them stepped into the cafeteria. Shayera grabbed a table while both John and Zari got a tray. After getting themselves some breakfast, the two sat down with her.

Zari looked at Shayera. "Aren't you having anything?"

"I had my breakfast a few hours ago."

John regarded her. "Isn't it lunch time in Lagos?"

"Yeah, but I tend to have it late," Shayera said as she stood up. "Speaking of which, I should be getting back down there."

"Bye," Zari offered.

"Later," John said.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Shayera said to Zari as she headed out of the cafeteria.

For a few minutes both Zari and John sat there in silence while they ate their breakfasts.

Once they were finished John also stood up. "I need to be heading down to Rio."

"Okay, bye," Zari said.

He left and Zari found herself sitting glanced around the room to see a few others sat eating, but they were all in the midst of their own conversations.

She stood up and took her tray and stacked it with the other dirty trays before taking a walk.

* * *

 **Daily Planet**

 **Metropolis**

 **United States**

 **09:58 – EDT**

There were days when Clark wished he was elsewhere, that he didn't have to sit through eight or so hours at work.

Today was definitely one of those days.

He was glad that he was writing a feel-good story for the Planet website. It was about people rescuing a dog that had gotten stuck in a drain.

Still, his mind kept wandering to Kara making it difficult to concentrate. He wondered if he should even be here or if he should have called in sick or something.

A shadow fell over him as Lois sat on the edge of his desk. She eyed his screen. "Seriously?" she questioned. "Isn't your paygrade a little above this kind of article?"

Clark explained not really feeling up to the task of dealing with her. "I thought it would be a good diversion from the usual news and people need to read something positive every once in a while. It can't be all doom and gloom."

"Your loss then I guess," Lois said with a shrug. "While you're wasting your time with that, I'm writing about MercyTech."

"MercyTech?" he questioned.

She smirked. "You haven't heard of it?"

Clark couldn't really say he had. He had been quite busy as of late with the Justice League, not that he could exactly tell her that.

Lois explained. "Mercy Graves has been setting up a new company. I did a little diggingover the weekend and it all seems to be above board. I'm not surprised you haven't heard of it, It hasn't officially begun operating yet."

Clark was instantly suspicious. He would have to do some investigating himself, not as Clark though, as Superman. Perhaps he could coax Batman into looking into it, or even the Question, though the latter was more of a last resort.

While she did seem to be taking the company into a more legal and honest direction, Lex himself had always held the appearance of being a law abiding citizen, at least at the start,but that certainly hadn't been true.

Lois moved over to her desk and sat down, leaving Clark feeling more ill at ease than he had before. His thoughts were already dwelling on Kara and now this?

He put Mercy and Kara out of his head and tried to focus on the story he was writing. He finished up the draft quickly before deciding to go grab a coffee.

Before he got the chance, though, Perry White called him into his office.

Before Clark had even closed the door behind him, Perry began to talk. "Your article on the Justice League. Not great." Clark stood there in silence. "Too one sided," Perry continued. "We don't run propaganda."

Clark really didn't need to be chewed out today. "It was still published, though," he said, hoping to make a point. "So it can't have been that bad right?"

"I had the editor make a few changes," Perry told him. "I would almost think you had a personal stake in them."Perry leant back in his chair. "Now get Lois in here, I want to talk to her too."

"Yes, sir," Clark said moving back to the door. He pulled it open and called out. "Lois, the boss wants to talk to you."

"You too, Kent," Perry amended. "So don't go wandering off."

Lois moved over and the two of them sat down in front of their boss. Perry steepled his fingers.

"Lois, I'm moving you back onto hero watch. You seem to have a better head on it than Kent."

She nodded with a smile. "Sure, I can certainly do that."

"This means you're off the MercyTech story."

Lois frowned. "But I just started."

"You found nothing of real importance. Keep whatever you're writing up short. We'll run it tomorrow in the business section." Perry looked at Clark. "Kent, MercyTech is now your thing. I want you to do some digging. By next Monday I want some dirt. I don't care if you have to rummage through her garbage. We all know she's up to something and the people deserve to know what it is."

"Understood," Clark agreed.

"Also find out what it means for LexCorp. Is she planning on moving assets to her own company so she can start running LexCorp into the ground, or is there some other motive?"

"I'll get on it."

"Good," Perry said. "Now get going. Both of you."

Both Clark and Lois stood up and left the office. The moment the door was closed Lois turned to him. "I guess you won't be finishing that article on the dog rescue."

"Maybe not, but Mercy is up to something. She has to be."

"We both know that much," Lois agreed. "I don't see why he thinks you can get something on her though, when I couldn't."

"Maybe I'll think of something you didn't." Clark said.

"At least I'm back on hero watch. A lot more exciting then snooping at whatever it is Graves is up to." She waved. "I'm off to finish my article.

"Sure," Clark said as he made his way back to his desk and saved his draft

It was time to do some real journalism. The first phase of his MercyTech investigation was to do some online sleuthing on what exactly MercyTech was and where it was located.

The second would of course be asking real people real questions at both LexCorp and MercyTech headquarters, the third would be trying to get a comment or even better an interview from Graves herself.

Perhaps this was what he needed to take his mind off of things.

Or maybe not.

* * *

 **Flying Grayson's Athletics Club**

 **Gateway City**

 **United States**

 **07:14 – PDT**

The treadmill was usually how Dick finished his workout. Today was no exception.

Today's run was cut a little short when Starfire stepped into the large room and leant against the wall staring at him.

He stopped the treadmill and climbed off, wiping his face with the towel.

"Is this about last night?" he asked as he threw the towel over his shoulder.

"If you are talking about the dream, then yes," she confirmed. "I wanted to tell you, but I didn't know how you'd react."

"How long have you been having them?" he asked her.

"I honestly don't know. It was sometime after I was given the augments by the Psions. I thought that maybe they were part of the abilities."

"What abilities exactly did they give you? The flight and the energy bolts?"

"Just the bolts. Tamaraneans have the ability to absorb sunlight and convert it to energy in the form of strength and flight."

"Like Superman," Dick commented. "So they gave you the ability to project this energy outwards?"

"Yes, but they weren't kind about it. They experimented on me, tortured me. I don't know what their end goal was."

"I'm sorry," he offered.

"The dreams helped when I had them. But they began to deteriorate. The world in the dreams fell apart."

"Do you know what happened in the dreams? Why we were fighting those creatures?"

She shook her head. "No."

"You said the dreams deteriorated. What did you mean by that?"

"They started off happy. We were in a team."

"Do you know who else was on the team?"

She looked up towards the ceiling. "There was an archer at the start. I think he was up on the Watchtower during the fight with the Gordanians. There was also a robot, or half robot and a woman in a hooded cloak and a green guy."

"Was that it?"

"I'm not sure. I don't always remember everything that happens in the dreams."

Dick looked up at the clock. "We'll talk more tonight. I need to take a shower before Vic arrives and we open up."

As he stepped over to the door, she gripped him by the shoulder and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for understanding," she said.

"I'm not sure I do understand, but we'll figure it out together."

He headed back upstairs to his apartment and took a shower. While he was washing his hair he tried to remember the names in the dream. He could remember Batman in the dream mentioning a Barry and a Michael.

Six minutes later he was out of the shower and drying himself off. He knew he was going to have to make a call, one that he particularly didn't want to make.

After getting dressed he made his way into the living room and picked up the phone. He paused before dialling the number.

He waited until the phone picked up, a familiar and warm British voice. _"_ _Good morning, Wayne Residence,_ _Alfred speaking."_

"Hey Alfred, it's Dick."

" _Master Dick. What a pleasant surprise. It is good to hear_ _from you_ _."_

"You too, Alfred. Listen, I know this is going to sound odd, but has Bruce been having strange dreams recently?"

" _Sorry, but I'm afraid I wouldn't know. You know how he keeps such things to himself._ _Is there a reason you are asking?_ _"_

"It's not something that's easy to explain. Give him the names Barry, Michael and Victor Fries, the last one you know of course. If he's having the same dream then he'll know what it means."

" _You are having peculiar dreams?"_

"I'd rather not get into it over the phone. Just tell him that both me and Kori are having the same dreams. It's like an apocalypse, but not in the future, it's in the past."

" _Most peculiar."_

"Yes, it is. Listen, I need to open up, I'll talk to you later."

" _Keep in touch, Master Dick. Goodbye."_

"Bye."

He put the phone down and stepped out into the hallway where he saw Starfire stepping out of her room as she put on her glamour charm necklace which hid her true skin-tone.

They both headed downstairs just as they heard the bell ring. Dick opened the door and let Victor in.

"On time as always," Dick said to the tall near seven-foot African American.

"How was your weekend?" Vic asked as he stepped inside.

"The usual," Dick replied as the two made their way to the staffroom where Kori was waiting.

Vic put his backpack down in the corner while Kori made some coffee in the machine.

Dick had started drinking coffee again. He had completely cut it out of his life at one point, but he found that he couldn't do without it.

As the three sat there at the table with mugs in front of them, Dick decided to tell Vic about their new employee.

"This afternoon I've got someone new coming in," he told Vic. "Her name's Cassie."

"You want me to show her how things work around here?" Vic asked.

"Yeah. She's worked in a diner before, so she knows customer service. Show her the ropes and ease her in."

"I can do that," Vic accepted

"Don't worry," Kori reassured him. "I'm going to be here too."

"I'm not worried," Vic said with a shrug.

"Good," Dick said. "This afternoon I'm going to finally try and get that dent out of the rear arch of my car."

"How did you even do that?" Vic asked.

Both Starfire and Dick's eyes met. It had been her that had put the dent in his car when she had stepped out in front of him and he had swerved. The rear of the car had connected with her, putting the nasty mar on the reconditioned car.

He finally answered. "Hit something on an icy road."

"Right," Vic said clearly unconvinced as he checked the clock. He began to speed up the drinking of his coffee as did everyone else.

As the clock hit eight, the club opened to its first patrons.

* * *

 **Lexcorp Headquarters**

 **Metropolis**

 **United States**

 **12:12 – EDT**

The computer monitors displayed various CCTV feeds that Mercy Graves watched with a smirk.

Clark Kent had gone to the new MercyTech building and had begun asking around until security had escorted him off of the premises. Then, he had begun asking those entering and exiting questions before finally coming to LexCorp itself.

There she had sat watching him continue his sleuthing until she decided to simply invite him up to talk face to face.

As the doors opened and the inquisitive reporter stepped into her office, she turned off the monitors and leant back in her chair, a satisfied smirk on her face.

"You could have called instead of creeping around," she joked. "What do I owe this pleasure Mr Kent?"

Clark stood in front of her oversized desk and got right to the point. "MercyTech. Why start a new business when LexCorp already deals with the development of future and advanced technologies? Won't you be competing with yourself?"

"Only if LexCorp remains in that field," she said obtusely.

Clark frowned at that response. "But isn't that LexCorp's primary function? It's like the Daily Planet deciding they're dropping newspapers."

"LexCorp does a lot of things. I've decided that technology is no longer in the company image."

"Do you think Lex would approve?" he asked her.

Her smile vanished and she glared. "If you haven't noticed Lex isn't here." She leant forward, resting her arms on the desktop. "And before you ask, no I am not really allowed to make this decision without Lex's approval."

"Even when he's considered deceased?"

"Even then."

"Then how are you doing it?"

"Simple. I'm not accepting any new contracts under LexCorp."

"That could end up damaging the net worth of this company," Clark pointed out.

Mercy's smile returned. "Your point?"

"So your goal is to hurt this company?"

"Of course not, don't be silly."

She was lying. It was obvious to Clark that she fully intended on hurting the company's net worth. For what reason he didn't know yet and that was something he intended to find out.

"And how did you get the funds to start up this new company?" he asked.

"I have my means," she said, again being rather obtuse. "Now, I think I've given away enough for you to make your little article. You can get out now."

Clark didn't object. He turned and left the office and she watched on the monitors as he left the building.

Mercy wondered if she had made a mistake in telling him what she had even if it had been very little. As she watched him drive away in his car she knew it was too late to do anything about it.

Feeling the urge to get some coffee, she stood up out of her chair only to have the phone ring.

She picked it up. "Yes?"

Her secretary responded. _"Miss Graves, I have the head of security at the MercyTech building on the phone."_

"More reporters?" Mercy questioned.

" _No ma'am._ _He says there_ _is some woman in your office that wants to talk to you in person."_

Mercy considered simply having them call the police. Instead, she decided against it. "Put him on the line."

" _Yes, ma'am."_

A moment later she was talking to the head of security at the MercyTech building. "What exactly is going on?"

" _A woman showed up dressed in black. She forced her way into your office and won't budge._ _I was going to call the cops but decided to call you first."_

"Leave them out of this," she commanded. "Do you have a name?"

" _We've got nothing. She wants to talk only_ _to_ _you."_

"Put her on the line."

" _Sure, I'll put you through to the office."_

A few seconds later a feminine voice answered. _"Not on the phone."_

The call then ended. Quickly, Mercy dialled back to get the security goon back on the phone.

"It's Mercy," she told him. "She hung up on me."

" _Should I call the cops?"_ he questioned.

"No, I told you before to leave them out of this. Tell her that I'm on my way, but MercyTech is at least an hour away in Metropolis traffic, probably three. Make sure she understands this."

" _I'll tell her."_

"Good." She put the phone down and left her office.

She didn't know who it was that had decided to plant themselves in her office, but she fully planned on finding out the reason.


	22. Chapter 22

****Chapter**** ** **Twenty**** ** **-**** ** **Two****

 ** **MercyTech****

 ** **Metropolis****

 ** **United States****

 ** **1** **4** **:** **1** **4 – EDT****

 ** **August 20, 2007****

Skipping lunch wasn't something that Mercy liked to do, not when she could avoid it. Today it seemed was going to be one of those days where she might have to.

The security escorted her through the building and into the express elevator. It ascended quickly to her office. Upon arrival, she stepped out cautiously, the four security officers with her drawing their guns.

Whoever was in her office was also sat in her chair. The phone receiver had been crushed and the perpetrator had her back to her. This did not bode well.

"Good, you're here," the voice said before swivelling around in the chair.

Mercy was both shocked and a little disturbed to see that the woman was wearing her old outfit, the one she had worn when she was Lex's personal bodyguard, complete with hat. This woman, however, also sported a pair of aviator sunglasses and had short blonde hair.

Mercy was not impressed. "Who are you and how did you get that uniform?"

The blonde woman stood up. "This?" she asked gesturing down at her attire as though she hadn't been expecting the question. "From your rather lovely apartment."

"How did you get in there?"

"You left your balcony door unlocked."

Mercy approached the desk, ignoring the protests from the security guards. This woman could probably fly or had other means of ascending tall buildings. She was also strong judging from the destroyed phone.

"What do you want?" Mercy demanded.

The woman took her sunglasses off and looked past her at the security guards. "I want to talk alone."

"And what makes you think I'll do that?" Mercy questioned.

"Because I think you know who I am and you know that you need someone like me on your side."

Mercy glanced back at her guards. "Go."

"No," The head of MercyTech security disagreed. "This is a bad idea."

"If you want to keep your job then you'll leave."

"But-"

"I said leave," she repeated more forcefully.

With reservation he left, taking the others with him, leaving just Mercy and the stranger. She knew it was a risk, but she had a feeling that this woman hadn't come here to kill her.

"Okay," Mercy said feeling a little insecure about the situation. "What do you want?"

"First, I want that guy's job," the stranger said. "I think I can do it better than he ever could."

"And second?" Mercy asked. "You obviously didn't set all this up for a job interview?"

"I need to find someone."

"Who?"

"Colonel Rick Flag."

"And what makes you think I can help you? Or that I'm even willing to help?"

"If you can't then I'll find someone who can."

"I'll consider it," Mercy said as she began to slowly make her way closer to the desk.

"I'm offering my services. Take it or leave it." The blonde stood up out of the chair and pressed a button under the desk which opened the window. She then began to float towards it. "I'll be in touch."

A moment later she was gone, blowing loose papers off of the desk. Mercy swiftly moved over and picked them up, placing them in the top drawer.

She had a feeling she knew who that was. But why would the Cadmus clone want to know where Colonel Flag was? She intended to find out, though she suspected that she already knew the answer.

As she closed the window and made her way back to the elevator, she found herself somewhat intrigued by the offer. A Kryptonian bodyguard; if she was right about who that had been, was certainly something no one else could say they had. But she had to wonder just how trustworthy was she?

She didn't want to become Lex, but there was still a bit of Kryptonite that he had lying around. When she got back to LexCorp HQ, she was going to get it, just in case she needed it.

Before all that, though, she was going to have something to eat.

* * *

 **Watchtower II**

 **Earth Orbit**

 **14:21 – Station Time**

It was Kyle's idea and Hirunan gladly went along with it. They had noted that Zari seemed to spend a lot of her time hidden away and they felt they needed to change that, especially if they were going to be helping with her training.

The two of them stopped outside her room and Kyle wasted no time pressing down on the chime.

It was almost a full thirty seconds before it finally opened. Zari looked at them with a frown.

"Hey, what's up?" Kyle greeted. "Both me and Hiru were wondering if you'd like to hang?"

"Hang?" she asked even more confused and sounding a little distressed, the phrase being lost on the alien girl. "Why would I want that? That sounds awful."

Hirunan came to the rescue. "He means do you want to join us? Kyle wants to show us something down on Earth."

"Metropolis," Kyle said. "There's a really cool arcade I used to go to. I wanna see if it's still there."

Zari stepped into the hallway. "Okay, I'd like to see this arcade."

"Then let's go," Kyle said. "You have a communicator, right?"

"Yeah," Zari confirmed as she rushed back into her room to get it.

Kyle led the way to the airlock where he opened the inner door. They stepped inside where Zari raised her concern.

"I can't breathe vacuum."

Hirunan raised her ring. "Don't worry, I'll give you atmosphere."A green aura formed around the both of them as Kyle cycled the airlock, raising a shield around himself as the air drained.

The outer door opened and Kyle flew out before Hirunan raised Zari and herself off the deck, following him into space.

At first the young Thanagarian found floating suspended in space to be unsettling, but as they moved closer to the Earth's atmosphere she began to rather enjoy it.

Kyle led them into the skies above Metropolis. After a minute or so he descended, Hirunan guiding herself and Zari down after him.

Finally they landed on a fairly rundown looking street. This was not at all as Kyle remembered it. When he had last been here it had been lively.

Not only was the arcade closed, but so was the candy store next door. Boards covered the windows and large shutters covered the front.

"What happened?" Kyle asked himself out loud.

Hirunan answered matter-of-factly. "It appears to be closed."

Kyle looked the building up and down, before turning to face the others. That was when he noticed people were stopping to stare.

"I guess we'll have to do something else," he said. "Let's go for a flight over the city. I wanna see how much has changed."

"Sounds good," Hirunan agreed. She looked at Zari. "Let's see if you can keep up."

Kyle took to the air, followed by Hirunan then Zari. They flew in a line northward before Kyle slowed moving beside Zari.

"Take the lead," he said to her.

Hirunan dropped behind the Thanagarian to her right where Kyle remained on her left. They moved in a "V" formation.

Zari picked up speed and began to climb higher, the two Lanterns staying right on her tail

This was exactly what she needed. The feeling of freedom she hadn't felt since she had been back home at the farm. Sure, she had flown while she had been living in the forest in Canada, but that had been to hunt.

The young Thanagarian rolled over onto her back and stared up at the blue sky above before she spun back around and descended down towards the city skyline, skirting over a tall spire.

"Try not to hit anything," Kyle warned.

Instead of taking it as intended, she saw it as a challenge. She flew past a building so close that she almost grazed it.

"You're gonna kill yourself," she heard Kyle shout at her.

She grinned as she once more began to climb up into the clouds. The two Lanterns moved beside her as they left the tall buildings of the city behind and flew over a suburb into the countryside beyond.

Over the course of the next few hours they flew the skies and Zari loved every second of it.

* * *

 **Flying Grayson's Athletics Club**

 **Gateway City**

 **United States**

 **12:44 – PDT**

With her car parked, Cassie Sandsmark switched off her ignition and climbed out of her car, locking it before making her way into the building.

Sat behind the front desk was a large muscular African American man. She assumed that this was probably the guy that Grayson had mentioned. She hoped he knew that she was a new starter.

He looked up from the magazine he was reading and smiled. "Hey there," he greeted.

She told him straight up. "I'm Cassie, I'm meant to be starting today."

"Dick told me about ya. Welcome to the team."

"Um, thanks," Cassie said taking a long glance around the foyer area.

"I'm Vic. Come around this side and I'll show you how the cash register works."

She moved around behind the front desk and watched as Vic showed her how to operate the register. She didn't tell him that she already knew having worked at a diner and allowed him to go through the motions.

With that out of the way he explained how her shift would go. She would have two breaks, one at half-two, one at four and then at half-five her shift would be over.

It sounded like a fairly easy day.

She sat with him as he dealt with some customers. Then he told her to handle the next.

It was easy. Someone entered wanting to use the facilities and if they had a membership, they were allowed right through. If not, then they were required to pay up front.

Also, if people wanted a drink and didn't want to use the vending machine they could buy one from the desk. There was a large refrigerator behind them full of non-alcoholic drinks.

It was mostly flavoured water but there were also a nice selection of energy drinks and snacks and unlike the diner, she didn't have to prepare anything which was definitely a bonus.

The first segment of her shift went quickly. At around two, Vic went for his break leaving her alone at the desk. Then at half past Starfire, or rather Kori, came to the front desk.

"How's your day been so far?" the disguised alien asked.

"It's been good," Cassie answered.

"That's great. You can go for your break now."

"Thanks," Cassie said. "How long?"

"Twenty minutes," Kori answered.

"And the toilet?"

"There's one by the staff room."

"Thanks."

Cassie made her way to the staff room and into the toilet. A few minutes later she was sat there at the small table staring at the clock counting down the minutes until her break was over.

After a few more minutes she pulled out her phone and sent a text to her friend Kati about how she had started her new job. She waited while her friend texted her back with a congratulations.

With five minutes left on her break, Cassie decided to head back. There was no point in waiting around.

As it turned out, the second leg of her shift wasn't on the front desk. Kori politely told her to go see if Vic needed any help. Cassie promptly went looking for him, finding him in the weights room stood talking to a customer.

He noticed her. "Hey, Cassie."

"Kori sent me to find you. Is there anything you need me to do?"

"Not right now," he answered. "If you want to use some of the equipment, though, you're free to do so."

"Right now?" she asked unsure. "Aren't I meant to be working?"

He laughed. "We're a little more relaxed here," he told her. "But if you want something to do, you can help me refill the vending machine."

"Sure," she said following him out of the room and over to a door.

After unlocking it, he pointed to some open boxes. "Take them through," he said.

She did as instructed, stacking the two boxes on top of each other and took them out of the room, placing them down in front of the vending machine.

Vic followed soon after with some more boxes. After stacking them next to the vendor he used the key on a keychain to unlock the front.

He then began to refill it, asking her to pass him a few bottles from the various boxes.

It didn't take all that long before they had refilled the machine and were returning the boxes to the back.

Vic locked the door. "That wasted ten minutes," he said. "If you want something else to do, go check the vacant squash courts and make sure the bats and paddles have been put away and not left on the floor."

"Sure," Cassie said as she moved down the hallway.

It only took a few minutes to check and only one court had the balls and bats thrown haphazardly on the floor. She placed the bats in the bat rack along the rear wall by the door.

With that done, she returned to Vic hoping the day got a little more exciting.

It didn't.

But she honestly didn't mind all that much. It was an easy job and it paid well.

For the final hour, she sat back at the front desk before Kori told her she could go home.

* * *

 **Mercy Graves' Apartment**

 **Metropolis**

 **United States**

 **22:06 – EDT**

The moment she set foot in her apartment, Mercy made her way over to the sliding balcony door and locked it. The thought of super powered beings flying in through her window was enough to unsettle her.

What unsettled her more was that it had actually happened and the intruder had gone through her wardrobe.

As she turned around she found the blonde standing their with her arms folded.

After a moment of surprise and shock Mercy grew angry. Her heart was thumping in her chest from the scare. "What do you want?" she demanded.

"I told you I'd be back," the Kryptonian said. "So, have you thought on it?"

"Even if I had, do you think I can hire you? Do you even have a history? A name? I have to be careful. I have eyes watching me very closely."

"You don't have to hire me, I wasn't serious about that. I just want Flag's location. I want to know who gave the order and why they want me dead. They had spent a year retraining me, a whole year. Then they suddenly decide I'm not worth the effort and try and kill me. I need to know. You have the resources to find out."

"And how do you know I haven't contacted the same people? How do you know I haven't sold you out?"

"Because you're not stupid."

"I'd be stupid to help you."

"Perhaps you would, but you know the benefits of having a powerful ally."

"You can't be all that powerful if you need my help," Mercy pointed out, looking her up and down.

"You have access to information I don't have. Contacts that I don't have. I need your help. They killed Emil for no reason. I need to know why. It can't just be me, I can't be the only reason."

Mercy steepled her fingers. She had already decided but wanted to play it out a little longer. "Okay, I'll help you," she told the clone. "But first you need to do something for me."

"Name it."

"I want something done."

"And what is that something?"

"Meet me at LexCorp tomorrow night at around ten and I'll tell you."

"At night?"

"Yes, at night."

"Understood. I'll meet you outside Lex's office."

"My office," she corrected. "And I'll let you in. Now get out."

The Kryptonian made her way to the balcony door and unbolted it and slid it open before flying off into the night sky.

Mercy locked it once more and let out a sigh. Maybe she should have set up her new business in another city so that she could get away from this place.

Too bad it was already too late for that.


	23. Chapter 23

****Chapter**** ** **Twenty**** ** **-**** ** **T**** ** **hree****

 ** **Wayne Manor****

 ** **Gotham City****

 ** **United States****

 ** **0** **8** **:50 – EDT****

 ** **August 21, 2007****

Bruce Wayne changed into slacks and a dressing gown before making his way up to the house from the Batcave.

It had been over two days since he had last got some proper sleep and he had to admit that these days it was getting harder and harder to do the long stints awake without it catching up to him.

It was one of the unfortunate signs that he was getting older.

"Master Bruce, you're back," Alfred greeted as he stepped into the main room.

"I am. Anything happen while I was gone?" Bruce asked.

"Actually, sir, it did. Master Dick called. He wanted to know if you had been having any strange dreams?"

"Not that I can recall," Bruce answered.

Alfred pulled a note out of his pockets. "He gave three names, sir, one of which you most certainly know."

"Let's hear them."

"Victor Fries," he began, naming the man who was now more infamously known as Mister Freeze. Alfred continued, "a man named Barry and another named Michael."

"I know of people with those names, but might not be the same people. Why is he contacting me about dreams?"

"He says that both he and his new lady friend appear to be having the exact same dream. Something about an apocalypse that happened in the past, sir"

Bruce rubbed his eyes. "I don't tend to recall my dreams." He started for the stairs. "I'm going to bed, Alfred."

"Understood, sir. Goodnight, or rather good day."

* * *

 **Lagos Tower**

 **Lagos**

 **Nigeria**

 **13:12 – WAT**

The morning had come exceptionally early for Zari Tarin. Four or five hours early. That morning she had sat in the Lagos Tower operations centre with Shayera and a few others who were on monitor duty.

Now it was afternoon and they were in training room two. It was a rather small square room with only a padded mat in the centre.

Shayera moved to the centre. "I'm going to see what level you're at," the older Thanagarian said.

"Basic," Zari answered.

"Well, first I want to see if you can fight grounded."

"No, not really," Zari said. "I was taught to strike fast from the air."

"So no hand-to-hand?"

"I know how to hit someone."

"But can you take a hit?"

Zari didn't want to answer. Her time locked up in the facility showed that maybe she couldn't. She had tried to escape numerous times, but they had always managed to recapture her.

"Here's what we're going to do," Shayera began. "You are going to try and knock me off my feet. But no fists or kicks just grapples. I won't fight back either."

Zari stepped up to the slightly taller woman. "How do I do this?"

"Grab me and try and drop me."

That didn't really help. Zari guessed she was being obtuse on purpose to see exactly how skilled she was, or rather how unskilled she was.

Awkwardly, she gripped Shayera by the shoulders and tried to trip her by pushing her over her outstretched leg. Shayera barely moved.

After a few more attempts, she gave up and took a step backwards, shaking her head. "I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing."

"I told you. I want you to throw me down onto the mat."

Zari stared at her for a few moments. Just as Shayera opened her mouth to say something else, Zari lunged forwards, ramming her shoulder into Shayera's lower midsection.

Shayera stumbled and fell backwards while Zari fell on top of her. A searing pain shot through her shoulder where she had impacted, making her roll off clutching it.

The older Thanagarian sat up and looked at her. "Not what I was looking for," she said.

Zari said nothing. Instead, she just lay there holding her shoulder.

"You've hurt yourself, haven't you?"

"I knocked you down," Zari said with a grimace.

"This was meant to be a bit of fun to get you used to working with me. I wasn't actually expecting you to knock me down, you know. At least not today."

"Then why tell me to?"

"To know your limits. It's something I still struggle with myself and I get hurt a lot because of it. I guess you don't like to lose?"

"No, I like to win."

Shayera got to her feet. "We better get that shoulder looked at."

"I'm fine, I just bruised it. I want to continue."

"Sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Then I'm going to teach you how to fall."

"Isn't the point of teaching me to fight, so that I can avoid falling? Besides, I have wings."

"You might not always have the opportunity to use your wings. If you don't learn to fall, then you'll be fighting the ground as well as your enemy and the ground hits hard."

"You've made your point," Zari mumbled.

"I want you to do some backwards rolls," Shayera said, stepping back off of the mat.

"Seriously?" Zari questioned. "You want me to roll around on the floor?"

"No, I want you to roll around on the padded mat." She moved back into the centre. "Look, I'll show you, stand back."

Zari moved out of the way and watched as Shayera squatted, then rolled back, her wings spreading out easily taking her weight before she used them to flip her back up onto her feet.

It looked graceful, almost like it was part of a dance. Zari wasn't sure she would be able to do that without falling on her head.

Shayera continued. "Another thing we're going to have to do is train your wings, otherwise they'll damage easily."

"How do we do that?"

"Fly harder, faster and higher. Also carrying heavy objects."

"I can fly for ages," Zari assured her.

Shayera smiled. "Then let's go flying," she said.

"Now?"

"Yeah, right now. I'll inform the others and then we'll set off."

Zari grinned. "Sure, let's go."

Shayera led the way up to the monitor room and told Anansi who was currently the one on watch what she was doing.

A few minutes later they were on the roof with the blazing sun beating down on them. It almost reminded Zari of home.

"I bet you're itching for this," Shayera said.

"I actually went for a flight around Metropolis with Kyle and Hirunan."

"Those two Lanterns? When did you do that?"

"Yesterday."

"Did you have fun?"

"Yes and I'm looking forward to doing it again now."

"Then let's go."

Shayera flapped her wings and ascended into the sky. Not wanting to be left behind, Zari did the same.

"Take the lead," the older Thanagarian said.

Zari flew forwards away from the tower. Shayera kept close behind, following her with ease.

Flapping her wings, Zari began to climb higher up into the clouds. Then she picked up speed flying as fast as she could. Again, Shayera easily kept pace with her and didn't even appear to be struggling in the slightest.

Zari had always been considered a fast flyer at least at home. She had been able to outfly everyone. She knew that her wings had grown a little idle due to her incarceration, but yesterday she had felt just as quick as ever.

She decided to push harder and started to pull away, but only for a few seconds. Shayera kept pace as though she were somehow attached.

They continued like this for a good twenty minutes before Shayera flew alongside her. "You're pretty quick. With some wing training, you'll be even quicker."

"How fast can you fly?" Zari asked her.

"I've never clocked myself. Of the original seven founders that can fly, I am unfortunately the slowest. I'm more bound by physics than the rest of them."

"Do you fly often?"

"When I can."

"Has there ever been a time when you couldn't?"

"There was a time that I didn't," Shayera answered. "I suppose you could say it was self-imposed."

"When was that?"

"After the Thanagarian invasion. I stayed with Doctor Fate and Inza for almost a year. A lot changed, I changed."

"Do you ever miss being Hawkgirl?"

"Sure I miss it. I miss those days. But it was all a lie. Hawkgirl was a lie. If I could go back and come clean from the start I would. The truth is I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought it was going to help us. But I never thought that helping would mean the destruction of a world."

"But this world wasn't destroyed," Zari pointed out obviously.

"No, but I was almost responsible for it being destroyed. I almost got my friends killed, all because I thought I was doing the right thing. The best of intentions almost resulted in the death of every single thing on this planet."

"So instead you let the Thanagarian Empire die," Zari pointed out.

"If its survival meant the death of an innocent world, then it deserved to die."

"And what about all the innocent Thanagarians that died?"

"We were at war with the Gordanians. Earth wasn't. They had no part in this. Even the plan to use the bypass to get behind their lines and attack their homeworld directly was idiotic. A futile plan made in desperation. The empire was dead regardless."

"You believe that?"

"Even if we took out their homeworld, what then? They had worn us down to such an extent that the Gordanians would have simply taken Thanagar as their new homeworld. We would have still lost."

"Then why put so many resources into it?"

"Because five years prior the bypass may have worked. Earth wasn't the only world in the network. Some other worlds, some vacant, others not were part of the chain and only Earth managed to stop us."

"How could it have worked five years earlier?"

"Because destroying their homeworld at that time would have given us a tactical advantage. The war was starting to turn bad, but we were still strong enough that destroying their command centre would have turned the war in our favour. Five years later we were too weak and their forces too numerous. By the time Hro came to Earth, our empire was already done. Our people just didn't realise it."

"How do you know all of this?"

"I had access to one of our ship's computers. A group of Thanagarians had set a trap for me, destroyed our Javelin. We managed to get away in one of their ships and we still have it. It had all sorts of data on it. Enough to make me realise that in the time I was here on Earth, our forces dwindled."

"So there was nothing we could do?"

"No. Now let's move on. I don't want to talk about that any more."

Zari wanted to know more but knew there would be time for that later. For now, she let it go and focused on her flying.

It was around a half-hour later that Shayera decided it was time to head back to the tower.

* * *

 **Watchtower II**

 **Earth Orbit**

 **16:20 – Station Time**

J'onn J'onzz stood there staring. He had just come up from the tower in South Korea and while he would normally head home after a day at the league, he had first wanted to come and see the so-called White Martian.

She wasn't Martian at all and he wasn't sure what Flag had previously told him was even true.

Previously, back during the Gordanian attack a few months back he had found the Metro Tower being taken by the US army and him being taken into custody.

While brief, he had been shown things that suggested that the Imperium creature, something that resembled a giant amoeboid jellyfish had taken White Martians from Mars and had changed them.

Was it true, or had it been manufactured? There was no reason for them to lie. Then again there was no reason for them so say anything to him at all. Unless they were attempting to accuse him of keeping this unknown fact secret?

Regardless, he didn't know whether she was even Imperium. There was just something about her mind that reminded him of them. But there was also something familiar, something distinctly Martian.

He didn't know for sure, as reading her mind was proving difficult, but he did suspect that she had chosen her form to be manipulative. Taking the form of a young attractive woman was sure to alter people's perceptions of who and what she was for the better.

While it might work on humans, it wouldn't work on him. He knew what she was and what she represented. The question was why wasn't she dead? She had been out in full sunlight and it had not killed or even weakened her as far as he could tell.

J'onn usually didn't feel rage, yet at that moment he was most certainly feeling it. Again, just like Galatea, a US government secret agency was using someone that was beyond their means to control.

He feared what they might accidentally let loose on the world one day, such as Doomsday. What if they released something that not even the Justice League could stop?

The so-called White Martian then spoke to him. "You hate me. I can understand."

"I do not hate, that is not the kind of person I am," J'onn said evenly.

"I don't believe that."

He could easily try to refute her claim, but it would be a lie. He had thought that he would never have to face one of them again. That when they had stopped them at the dawn of the Justice League's formation that they were gone that they had been defeated.

But here sat the legacy of the destruction of his people. Perhaps the last of its kind. Like himself in a strangely perverse way.

Quickly, J'onn pushed the thought out of his mind. He could not believe that even for an instant that he had compared her to himself. There was no similarity between them whatsoever.

"What's going to happen to me?" she asked.

J'onn turned his back to her. "I do not know." In honesty, he didn't care.

He left the brig. There was no reason for him to be there. All he had done is made himself feel defeated and worst of all infuriated.

It was then he knew that he probably should have gone straight home. No good could come of him seeing her, or rather "it" and nothing could bring back everyone he had lost.

No matter how much he wanted it. No matter how much he still couldn't let go, he knew that he had to accept that his people were all dead.

He thought he had been able to move on, but he was lying to himself. He just wanted to pretend he was over it because the reality was far too painful to bear.

Old wounds had been torn open and he felt like his innards were spilling out.

He needed relief but there was none to be had. He would have to continue living with the pain as he had for a very long time now. There was nothing else he could do.

* * *

 **Somewhere in Arizona**

 **United States**

 **14:04 – MDT**

It was absolutely boiling. The surface of the old black Pontiac was even hotter and thanks to the fact that it had broken down, the air-conditioning wasn't working.

Question was under the hood with a toolbox by his feet while Huntress sat on a rock in the scorching sun while he worked. The car had not broken down out of the blue but had been playing up over the last hundred miles until finally, it had sputtered to a stop.

Both of them looked like ordinary people, she dressed in dark leather pants and a tank top, which she was regretting in this heat. She did have a leather jacket, but that was in the car.

Question had even taken his Psuedoderm mask off which meant he was plain old Vic Sage, though he was still in a shirt, tie and pants with suspenders and looked like he was straight out of the forties. He had been smart enough take his coat off, though, which was currently in the back seat of the car.

Huntress, also known as Helena watched as he swore under his breath and reached down grabbing another tool from his toolbox.

"Sure you don't want help, Q?" she asked.

"Too many people crowding around will slow me down," he answered.

"Maybe you need a new one,"

"I don't need a new one, this one works fine."

"Clearly not," she commented.

He looked at her with his blue eyes. "Just a slight hiccup. Besides newer cars aren't safe."

She didn't even need to ask what he meant. He wasn't referring to crumple-zones or anti-collision devices, he meant something conspiratorial about how newer vehicles were all tracked or something.

Vic didn't disappoint. "Newer cars have onboard computers that can be tracked by satellite. They can also take control, not completely, but enough so that their target is involved in a fatal crash, making it appear entirely accidental."

Helena glanced up the road. "I think I saw a garage in that town we went through a few miles back. I could take a walk down there if you want? See if they could send a truck out?"

He shook his head. "And let them place a tracking device on my car? I don't think so."

"I doubt they would do that," she commented.

"Perhaps not intentionally."

She rolled her eyes. "Do you honestly believe these conspiracies?" she asked him for what must be the hundredth time since they had first met. "Not everything has to be connected."

"Everything's connected. You just don't see it." He looked at her. "I think I got it. Try to start her.

Helena moved over to the driver's side and climbed inside. Instantly she could feel the heat but tried to ignore it as she twisted the ignition.

The car whined but the engine didn't start. She tried a second time and again it failed. "Want me to try again?" she asked.

"Hold on a moment," he said.

"Holding."

After about a minute he gave her the go ahead. "Try it now."

She twisted the key and the car roared into life. A moment later Vic closed the hood and picked up his toolbox.

"Fixed it?" she asked.

"Should hold until we get to Truth or Consequences."

"What?"

"Our destination," he told her. "Known as TC to the locals. A small place of perhaps six-thousand."

"So we do have a destination. You said you didn't know, only had a hunch?"

"It is a hunch."

He took the toolbox around back and placed it into the trunk before heading back to the driver's side.

Helena shook her head. "I'm driving for a while."

He moved around to the other side and got in the passenger seat. "Go ahead," he said. "But you don't know where you're going."

"I'm heading for the nearest freeway and I'm getting us to our destination. These back-roads are nice, but we need to get there before next week."

"I don't like controlled-access highways," he mumbled. "They are the perfect places to organise accidents."

"Well, it's too bad, Q, because that's what we're taking and you are going to give directions. We would have been there by now if we had taken the interstate instead of these backroads."

She checked that there was nothing coming before she pulled back onto the road and accelerate hard, listening to the engine roar as she did so.

She glanced over at him. "So what exactly is the plan once we get there?"

"I haven't thought that far ahead."

"So why are we even going there?" she asked him

He didn't answer and she simply gave up trying. She would find out when they arrived.

At least she hoped she would.

* * *

 **LexCorp**

 **United States**

 **21:25 – EDT**

Galatea flew in through the CEO office window which had been conveniently left open for her. She landed and looked around the empty room before moving over the large desk where a closed laptop lay. She opened it up to find it password protected.

While she could probably unlock it, she couldn't be bothered and she closed the lid and continued to wait.

After about ten minutes the door opened and Mercy stepped into the office. "You're early," Graves said.

"I like to be early. Now, what's this job?"

Mercy stepped over to the desk and pulled out two small devices. "I want you to plant these in two places."

"Tracking devices?" Galatea asked.

"No, they're bugs. I want one planted in a car and the other in an apartment."

"Done that before when I was at Cadmus. Who do you want bugging? A competitor?"

"No, a reporter."

Galatea's brow raised. "A reporter?"

"Yes, a Clark Kent."

"Clark Kent?"

"Have you heard of him?"

"Oh, I've heard of him. An interesting target. You might get more than you bargained for with him."

"I'll give you the address," Mercy said as she handed over the two devices which Galatea pocketed.

"I already know," Galatea said. "I also know his license plate and where he parks his car."

Mercy looked at her in surprise. "You do? How?"

"Let us just say I recently had some insight into some very interesting things regarding Mr Kent."

"And what would they be?" Mercy questioned.

"Let's just say that depending on just how careful he is even when he's alone, you might just get more than you bargained for. Give me a third and I'll plant one in his parent's house in Kansas."

"They don't have that kind of range. Simply plant those two and the information on Flag's location is yours."

"And here I thought you would be getting me to do something difficult."

Galatea stepped back over to the window. "I'll be back shortly." With that, she took off and flew into the darkening sky.

She wondered just what Mercy knew and what she suspected regarding Clark Kent. It was possible that she knew nothing of him being Superman, but it was also possible that she did. Why else would she want him bugged?

The clone slowed as she reached Kent's apartment. She pulled open the unlocked skylight and flew inside.

Looking around, she wondered where to put it where he wouldn't easily find it.

She decided to simply place it on the underside of his bedside drawers. If he used his X-ray vision, then he would easily see it, but she doubted he would unless there was a reason to.

After looking for and finding his car keys, she left his apartment, closing the skylight window and making her way to the underground car park.

She found his car easily enough and unlocked it, stuffing the bug underneath the front seat.

"Testing, testing," she joked before climbing out and locking the car up. She returned the keys to where she had found them in the apartment and checked that everything was how she found it before making her way back to LexCorp which took no time at all.

When she arrived, Mercy was sat there drinking a cup of coffee. She looked over at her as she landed.

"That was fast."

"I work quickly. Now I've done my part, time for you to do yours."

"New Mexico," Mercy said. "Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. North side of Elephant Butte Reservoir. That's where Flag is currently stationed in a new building."

"Where?"

"Exactly," Mercy agreed. "Maybe there because it's out of the way."

"I'll need a map," the Kryptonian said. "I have no idea where that is. I've never even heard of it."

"A hundred odd miles north of El Paso on the border, maybe halfway between El Paso and Albuquerque, closer to Paso. Follow the Rio Grande. You can't miss the place, not with your eyes. It's high security so you can't miss it."

"And why help me?"

"Why not?" Mercy shrugged. "I figured that if I helped you, then you'd owe me. You're right, I'm not stupid and having someone like you owe me a favour is a benefit."

"Once it's done I'll be back."

"We never had this conversation. If you kill Flag, then we never even met. Understand Galatea?"

"I understand," the clone accepted. "But what about that favour I owe you?"

"I'll think of something. If you return." Mercy took a quick sip of her coffee. "So, are you going to kill him?" she then asked.

Galatea didn't answer. She moved over to the window and flew off into the night sky.

The honest truth was that she didn't know what she was going to do.

* * *

 **Government Facility**

 **New Mexico**

 **United States**

 **20:04 – MDT**

Rick Flag preferred to argue in person, but over the phone was an adequate compromise.

He was not liking what he was hearing from the new director. He knew they needed more security, but this was too much.

"That is not going to happen, Cannon," Flag said in a raised voice, the phone held tightly in his grip. "May I remind you that this is the exact reason we are in this predicament in the first place?"

He listened to what was said, but it did nothing to ease his reservations.

"I don't care if you didn't want Hamilton or Lester dead, that came from higher up than you and whether you like it or not so did the order to terminate the clone. You're not as in charge as you think you are, Cannon." He gritted his teeth at what he heard next.

Flag was an honest to God Patriot with a capital "P". He loved his country and he would do anything to protect it. But as of late he was starting to wonder if it was losing its way.

"I don't care what this so-called "Doctor" Sivana has accomplished," he nearly yelled. "He will turn on us the moment it suits him. He cannot be trusted, you know he can't. You might want to see the best in him, but there is no good in that man's body. Not a cell, not a molecule."

What was the price of national security? Flag had often asked himself that very question and he liked to think that as long as America and its people remained free, then everything and anything was acceptable to keep the nation secure and keep it safe.

But the Justice League showed that they were anything but safe. They had reactivated their gun to fight the Gordanians and while it was unknown as to whether it was now off-line again, the fact that it could be reactivated so easily showed that they were just as dangerous and untrustworthy as before.

"Sivana is not coming here with anything," Flag said firmly. "I know that the damned clone might be coming here, but we'll deal with her without his or his pet project's help."

He listened as he was told that Sivana was already on his way. He slammed his fist down on the top of his desk.

"We have the Kryptonite tipped smart missiles for the tracking launchers. It's enough to deal with her." Cannon reminded him of the fact that the White Martian might be with her. "We'll deal with that thing as well," he argued. "And we'll also deal with Sivana and his project when they inevitably turn on us as well."

But his argument fell on deaf ears. Sivana was coming here with his pet project and Flag feared that the whole mess they found themselves in was going to begin anew.


	24. Chapter 24

****Chapter**** ** **Twenty**** ** **-**** ** **F**** ** **our****

 ** **Truth or Consequences****

 ** **United States****

 ** **0** **7** **:20 –** **MDT****

 ** **August 2** **2** **, 2007****

Vic Sage known also as The Question sat seemingly alone in the small diner, listening in to the various conversations that were happening around him. Exposing his face was always dangerous as there was no telling who or what was watching him. In this case, however, it was a risk worth taking. He would draw far less attention with a face than without one.

He glanced over towards the restrooms as Helena stepped out of the door and made her way over to their booth. She slid into the seat opposite him and picked up the menu and began to peruse it.

After a minute or so, she glanced up at him. "Want another coffee?"

"I never had a coffee to begin with," he told her.

"Right, you didn't have anything. You'll have to have something to eat and drink eventually."

"Eventually," he concurred.

"Just not here," she pointed out. "Listen, the water doesn't have anything in it, okay?"

"Fluoride," Vic answered. "And other things they don't tell you about."

"I am going to hit you if you don't stop with the conspiracies," Helena threatened.

"Promises, promises," he said looking out of the window. "Now, are you finished? We have a job to do, remember?"

"No, I don't remember," she answered keeping her voice low. "Please remind me."

"I need data on why they are here."

"That the only reason? As I recall, you didn't even mention this place until the Suicide Squad burnt down a national park and topped Hamilton. Is this because of Galatea?"

"Galatea is of some concern," he admitted. "They killed the man she saw as her father. She may seek retribution."

"And how do we know Superman didn't catch up with her? He was looking for her when we left. Maybe you should call the lords on high and get an update?"

A few people looked over in their direction. Vic slowly shuffled his way out of the booth. "I think you should pay for your coffee and we should continue this conversation in the car."

He left the diner and made his way swiftly to the parking lot where he had left his car. He climbed inside and got out the bottle of water from the glove box. It was warm, but that didn't matter to him. He had filtered it himself so he knew it was safe.

After a few minutes sitting there, he saw Helena approaching the car. She climbed into the passenger seat and looked over at him.

"So?" she began.

"So, what?" he asked.

"What are we doing? Are you going to call the Watchtower for an update?"

"You're making an assumption," he said as he looked forward through the windshield. "Regardless of whether Galatea comes here or not isn't really the point, just an excuse," he told her. "As I said, I want to know why Ultima are here and why they wanted to terminate one of their agents and why so aggresively?"

"Ultima? That's the new name for Cadmus?"

"Yes and no. Just something to put in the books so the Government knows where to send their funding. Cadmus has been split into two subgroups, one still named Project Cadmus, the other Project Ultima. Cadmus is research and development, still in the field of meddling with genetics and powers that they barely understand and Ultima is the end result. They are the one that gets the funding, Cadmus doesn't officially exist, even less so than before. I could also go into how Task Force X is still under the Cadmus umbrella after it was merged a few years back, but we both already know that."

"And what does Ultima do, exactly?"

"They take the abominations Cadmus have created and form them into killing machines they can barely control."

"So you think they're up to something?"

"I know they're up to something. So far all that funding hasn't produced anything that I know of, not since they downsized and that is a problem."

"So you want to know what all that funding has helped them create?"

"Cadmus almost helped cause a superhuman arms race that could have devastated the planet. They haven't changed, even if they are a shell of what they once were. They are up to something, something big."

"You want inside to find out?" Helena asked.

"I want you inside. I need information and you're better at stealth and going unnoticed than I am."

"That's quite the compliment, Q."

Vic reached over and put his bottle of water back into the glove box before he reached into his pocket.

He continued. "I have some drives, but they're too cumbersome to get inside," he told her. "I'll need access to their computer network so I can gather the data remotely."

"I'm not much of a computer expert," Helena pointed out.

"I'll talk you through it." He pulled out two earpieces. "You go in tonight." he then pulled out a small flash drive. "This has a command on it which should help you get into their system and also acts as a should also be able to get through any signal blocks they have in place. I'll help you through the process of getting in and sending me the data."

She eyed the small object. "Where did you get a thumb drive that'll do all that?"

"It's amazing what you can find in Mister Terrific's room."

She smirked as she watched a car park in a nearby space. "Stealing from your co-workers? They'll kick you out if you're not careful."

"They can't if they don't know it was me."

She glanced back at him. "Are you sure you don't want to come in with me?"

"No, because I want to make sure I'm collecting the data on my laptop."

"That old laptop in the trunk? Are you even sure that thing still works?"

"It's only old on the outside."

"I thought you couldn't replace and update parts in a laptop?"

"Not easily," Vic answered as he reversed out of their parking space.

"Where are we heading, now?"

"To the motel to get a room."

"Finally," she uttered. "Some action."

"To rest until tonight," he amended.

* * *

 **Watchtower II**

 **Earth Orbit**

 **08:55 – Station Time**

Kara's chest felt like it was full of sharp stones when she breathed. In fact near every inch of her felt off and she had no clue why. The last thing she remembered was being down in Smallville painting a fence. Then she was here in what appeared to be in one of the medbay rooms aboard the Watchtower.

To say she was confused was an understatement. What had happened in the last few hours? Then she realised she didn't even know how long she had been in here.

By the fact that she was wired up to a catheter meant that she had probably been here, or had been expected to be here a while.

She looked over to the door as it opened. Green Lantern stepped inside, a look of concern on his face.

"How are you doing, Kara?" he asked her.

"My chest hurts. What happened?"

"It's complicated," he answered.

Then Superman rushed in almost knocking John over. "Is she awake?"

"Clark," she called out.

John moved out of the way as he rushed to her side. "Do you know what happened? Do you remember who you are?"

"What happened? Last thing I remember I was on the farm."

Superman took in a long breath. "You don't remember anything after you collapsed?"

"I'm not sure," Kara said resting her hand on her chest. "Did I get sick or something? Why does my chest hurt?"

"Kara, your mind was hijacked by someone. Both yours and Galatea's."

Kara tried to remember. There was nothing. That still didn't explain why she was in pain.

"You swapped memories," he continued. "You flew off and were injured helping a Delina Gibson and her son. You're only alive because you were helped by what we think is one of the Imperium."

That triggered something in Kara's memory. "She's a White Martian or something," she said. "The Imperium took them and changed them."

"So you remember?"

She shook her head. "Not really, no. I'm not sure where that even came from."

John spoke up. "Might be a bit of amnesia."

"Yeah," Kara said with a slight shrug. "How was I injured?"

"Kryptonite lined gas," Superman answered.

"And why was I helping this Delina?"

"You thought you were Galatea."

Kara covered her face with her hands. Despite how crazy it sounded, she knew it was the truth. She felt like there was a memory she could almost recall, but it was just out of reach.

"Please tell me I didn't do anything bad?" Kara questioned.

"Not that we know of," Superman told her.

Kara nodded as something came to her. "I think I remember some of it," she said rubbing her temples. "The Martian girl. She knew I was Kara. Where is she now?"

John told her. "We have her in a class-5 containment cell."

"And the Gibson's?"

Superman answered. "We managed to find a room to put them in down in the Metro Tower."

"Okay," Kara accepted. "She might be worth keeping around."

"What makes you say that?" John asked her.

"Just a feeling."

"Kara?" Superman asked. "Are you sure it's just a feeling?"

"I can't remember. I think she has something to do with Galatea. I'm not entirely sure."

"Maybe it will come back to you," Superman offered.

Before heading to the door, John offered some words. "Good to see you're getting better. I have to go, I have a new Lantern I need to start training."

"Oh, yeah? Who?"

"Shayera's new Thanagarian friend that a ring decided to attach itself to."

"I think I heard about her. What's she like?"

"I haven't spent much time with her," John said. "She's a bit like Shayera."

Kara smiled at that. "In that case, good luck with the training."

"Thanks, Kara," he said before leaving the room.

She rubbed her eyes. "Wow, I feel worn down."

"You've been through a lot," Superman said. "Get plenty of rest and you'll be fine."

"Thanks, Clark."

"No need," he said as he started for the door. "Just make sure you get better."

"I intend to," she assured him.

He left and she lay there staring up at the ceiling. Her mind was still a bit foggy over what exactly had happened to her. She remembered fixing the fence at the farm, heading inside and then? That's where everything seemed to fragment.

She hoped that with time she would be able to piece it all together. Right now, though, Clark was right. She needed to rest.

* * *

 **09:02 – Station Time**

With a press of the button, the door slid open revealing John Stewart. Zari Tarin felt a pang of excitement. Today she was going to get the ring back and she was rather looking forward to it.

Or so she thought.

"Ready?" he asked her.

"Ready," she said in response.

"With me."

She followed closely wondering what her first day would be like. She stepped into a small room where the purple Green lantern, Hirunan was waiting.

"Sit down behind the computer," John instructed.

"Um, I haven't had breakfast yet," Zari told him.

"I'll have someone bring you something," he said. "Now sit down."

She did so, but was starting to feel a little confused. "What am I doing exactly?"

He explained. "Before you get the ring back, you need to know some things. I've had Hirunan here set up a little crash course."

Hirunan leant against the wall. "It was tough considering how slow these computers are and how basic the software is. Real archaic stuff you have here."

"It's pretty advanced by Earth standards," John objected.

"Sure, I suppose," she accepted, "but still, considering the Justice League is starting to become known in this Galaxy and a few beyond, I'd have expected you to have better stuff."

He frowned. "You're here to make sure that she knows the basics, not deride our tech."

She smirked. "I could go on. Fusion reactor and not matter/antimatter? Come on, what are you running here? A space station or a freight hauler?"

He didn't give her the satisfaction of biting at her jibes. "I'll be back this afternoon," he said. "I'll be down in the Rio Tower."

"Understood," Hirunan acknowledged. "By this afternoon, she'll be ready to handle her ring, though I'm still not sure why you haven't given her it back yet?"

He didn't answer as he left the room while Zari stared at the blank screen. Hirunan moved the mouse and it switched on.

"Let's begin," Hirunan said.

They did and what came next was a few hours of sheer boredom.

* * *

 **Truth or Consequences**

 **United States**

 **10:44 – MDT**

It hadn't been that hard to find. Good eyesight meant she could read road signs from cloud level, higher if she wanted to, but the clouds tended to get in the way.

Right now she was on the ground sitting on the bank of the river to the north of the small town.

The facility was north of here and while she could go there right now and flatten it she suspected that they were anticipating her arrival and had taken steps to stop her.

That meant she had to be smart. She wasn't interested in anyone but Flag. She wanted to know who gave the order to have her terminated so that she could terminate them in return.

She would wait until nightfall and see if Flag left the facility or whether it currently also were he bunked.

Something felt wrong to her, though. Why here? There were less than ten thousand people living in Truth or Consequences. There was little here and it was perhaps only one-hundred miles north of the Mexico border.

She stood up and wiped the dark pants she was currently wearing. She had to admit, she missed the white one-piece she used to wear. It had been comfortable and easy to move in. This outfit she had "borrowed" from Mercy Graves while nice and sleek in design was definitely not in her size.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out some cash that she had also "borrowed" and flicked through it. It was only two-hundred bucks, but it would be enough for her to perhaps buy something more in her size.

This wasn't about vanity, was probably going to end up fighting and she needed to be able to move without tearing up what she was wearing.

The city of Las Cruces was around seventy miles south and had a much bigger population and would have stores which would sell what she required and while she could go to the bigger city on the border, she didn't want to go that far.

Being so close to the government facility, she decided to walk instead of fly. Not the whole way as that would take her all day, but perhaps a good five miles south of TC.

The sun beat down on her, but she didn't find it particularly hot or uncomfortable. Instead, she found it invigorating.

It took next to no time to walk through the small town which only served to further confuse her as to why they would build a super secret government facility here? It just didn't make sense, at least not to her.

In all honesty, though, she didn't care to find out. They could build what they liked, where they liked. She was here for one reason and that was to get some information out of Flag. Once she had done that he was dead weight.

When she reached what she believed was the ten-mile mark of walking along the side of the highway, she took a long look around and paused as a truck drove past.

Then she took to the air, shooting up into the sky. Then she headed south, it taking less time for her to fly the seventy odd miles to Las Cruces then it did for her to walk five.

Once there she landed near the outskirts of the city and made her way in from the north side.

Finding a store which sold what she wanted was a mission in itself. She had decided to see if she could find a place that sold leotards as that was what she was most comfortable with. The white outfit she had worn had essentially been of that design.

In the end, she was forced to ask for directions. While she was usually great at finding things, that had always been from the air. As it turned out, being on the ground she was far less adept at understanding where she was in relation to anything.

With knowledge of where she to go, she made her way straight there, or she assumed she had. After getting lost a second time and being forced to once more ask for directions she finally found a sportswear store.

In a way, this was a new experience for her. While she had gone to various stores with Emil she had not done it much on her own and certainly not clothes shopping alone.

Cadmus had dealt with all of that. If she needed to wear something for a specific mission, then they had issued it.

Finding the leotards was easy. Finding one she liked was another matter. Most were sleeveless which she didn't like. The ones that did have sleeves were either short or not in the colour she wanted, which was white.

It had sort of become her colour, like red for the Flash or green for the Lanterns. It was what she wanted and she was having trouble finding it.

Finally, she did. A single white long-sleeved leotard hidden in with the sleeveless ones.

With a smile, she headed to the checkout and handed over a quarter of the cash she had on her before she headed out with it folded over her arm.

While not the same resistant material that her old outfit had been made out of, it should suffice for the task at hand.

With her business concluded, she headed out of the city before taking to the air and heading north back to TC.


	25. Chapter 25

****Chapter**** ** **Twenty**** ** **-**** ** **F**** ** **ive****

 **Motel**

 **Truth or Consequences**

 **United States**

 **17:12 - MDT**

Galatea looked at herself in the mirror. She had changed into the white leotard and while it looked not too different, it certainly didn't feel the same.

But there was little she could do about it. It wasn't like she had access to the place that made her old costumes. She wasn't even sure where they had been made, just that they were some kind of durable advanced material.

She checked the clock before sitting down and switching on the TV. Then another sound from another room caught her attention. She switched the TV back off and stepped over to the wall. Roughly four rooms over she could hear talking and one of the voices was very familiar.

" _Sunset is at around eight,"_ she heard Question's recognisable voice say.

" _Three hours,"_ a female responded. _"So, you want me to go in, send you_ _the_ _data then get out?"_

" _Correct,"_ came the response from Question. _"You need to be quick_ _but thorough. Your best hope is to begin the transfer and then switch off the monitor and then hide. It could take thirty minutes or more."_

" _That's a long time to be in there."_

" _Which is why we don't go until midnight when there's the least chance of being caught."_

" _They'll never know I was there."_

" _They'll know someone was there, but it will be too late for them to do anything about it."_

" _So, what do we do until then?"_

" _Sit and relax,"_ came Question's response. _"We want to save our energy."_

Galatea listened for a few more minutes, but they said nothing else of interest. From what she had overheard, it seemed that Question and someone else, perhaps Huntress were looking to take data from the facility, data that she herself knew she might need.

This actually worked in her favour. She might not have to even do anything, except take the data from Question, in whatever physical medium he was going to store it on.

Or perhaps she could convince him to let her take a look? He clearly wasn't here on orders from the Justice League, or at least she doubted it. Also, it wasn't like he or his girlfriend would be able to stop her.

If she didn't get what she wanted from whatever they managed to pull from their hard-drives, then she could still go in and question Flag personally and maybe melt his face off while she was at it.

In fact, she would probably go melt his face off regardless. He deserved it for the part he had played in her father, Emil's death. Then she would go after the rest and take them down one by one.

* * *

 **Watchtower II**

 **Earth Orbit**

 **20:41 – Station Time**

Kara stared up at the ceiling above her. She felt tired but she couldn't sleep. The pain had long since started to subside and had now almost gone, but the boredom was becoming intolerable.

Finally, she had had enough. She sat up and gripped the tube that went into her arm and into the machine and pulled it out. Almost immediately the hole began to heal.

She pushed her legs over the side and stood up, stretching her arms and legs. She needed to get back on her feet and she was feeling well enough that she felt that a walk wouldn't do her any harm. Actually, it would likely do the opposite.

As she started for the door one of the medical staff came in a frown on his face. "You shouldn't be up yet," he said moving past her and grabbing the now loose tubing. "You've disconnected the machine that was purifying your blood of the poison," he said rather obviously.

"I'm fine," Kara said. "I need to go for a walk and get outta this room and maybe get something to eat. Actually, I think I'll do that first."

He switched the machine off. "You heroes, you never listen," he mumbled. "We won't be able to put it back in now, not unless we put you under a red-sun lamp. Your skin's too tough."

"I'm not going under anything. I'm going to the commissary to see if they have any of that pasta in tomato sauce, then I'm going home."

"Do what you want," he said leaving the room clearly not happy.

She smiled. At least he knew where he stood. She headed over to a small cabinet that lay in the corner and looked inside. There was no change of clothes, which was an annoyance. She had expected those she had been wearing down in Smallville to be there, but clearly, they weren't.

She knew Galatea had been brought up here and wondered if she had taken them? Probably, was the answer to that.

Walking around in a hospital gown wasn't her idea of fun but without anything to change into, she would have to. She quickly grew annoyed. She did not want to walk around like this.

Thankfully she didn't have to. A nurse stepped into the room with some blue clothing.

"Sorry," the nurse said before confirming what Kara had suspected. "The other you took your clothes earlier. I was informed by the doctor that you were leaving, so I brought you something to change into."

Kara took them off her and she left. Unfolding them she saw that it was the blue Watchtower Personnel uniforms, though it was lacking the gold name badge for obvious reasons.

She put it on, finding it a little large on her. Kara had never been a particularly tall person which had worked in her favour in the past. People assumed her shorter stature meant that she was weaker. She was Kryptonian, so she was still stronger than almost everything else.

After signing out at the front desk of the medbay, Kara headed to the elevator and took it up several decks. From there she walked into the cafeteria and grabbed a tray.

The person stood behind the counter looked over at her. "Watchtower Staff cafeteria is a few decks down."

"No, I'm Kara, go by Argo now, used to be Supergirl. Just got out of the medbay."

"Oh, right," he said. "You want anything in particular?"

"Got any of that pasta in tomato sauce."

"Sorry, no pasta today. We do have lasagne, though."

Kara thought for a moment. "I'll just grab a family pack of those tortilla chips," she said, returning her tray and moving over to the basket that was full of the big packets.

She grabbed one and turned to head for the exit when she saw the young Thanagarian John had mentioned earlier, sat alone with cold half-eaten lasagne.

Making a quick decision she made her way over and sat down opposite as she opened her large back of corn chips. The young Thanagarian looked up at her with a frown but didn't say anything.

Kara decided to introduce herself. "I'm Kara, also now known as Argo. Don't mind the outfit, just got out of the medbay."

The Thanagarian seemed confused for a few moments before answering. "I'm Zari."

"Aren't you supposed to be in training to be a Green Lantern?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Where's your ring?" There was no response which Kara found odd. "Hasn't he given you it yet?" she asked.

Zari slowly shook her head indicating he had not.

"Why not?"

"I'm not sure. I thought I was getting it today. All I did was stare at a computer screen learning rules."

"Rules? Like what?"

"Like what is expected of a Lantern and how to properly maintain the ring and battery."

"Seriously?" Kara asked. "And he didn't even let you put it on?"

"Not since it found me, no."

"When are you next training with him? Tomorrow?"

"No, the next day. Tomorrow I will be with Shayera."

"Do you want me to talk to him?"

Zari quickly shook her head. "No, he'll give me it back when I'm ready."

Kara grabbed another corn chip from the bag before offering the young Thanagarian one. "Want one?" she asked holding the bag out.

Zari looked inside the bag. "What are they?"

"Cheese flavoured corn chips."

Zari reached into the bag and took one out. She looked it over and sniffed it before finally biting the chip in half. She then quickly ate the rest of it once she got a taste.

Kara continued to share them out while they talked. Or rather Kara tried to strike up a conversation. Zari seemed reticent to say anything.

"Are you shy?" Kara asked finally.

Zari was defensive. "No."

"You're very quiet," she observed.

"I don't have much to say."

"That's fine. Can I ask you a question?"

"If you want to."

"Do you want to be here?"

Zari shrugged. "I don't know. I wanted to escape from the place I was being held and find Shayera because she's Thanagarian, like me. But the ring found me and that changed things. I still wanted to find her, but they found me instead. Now I'm just going along with it, see how it all turns out."

"I can understand that. I was unsure where I stood when I first arrived here on Earth. This is a strange and backwards little world. But I quickly realised what I wanted to do. I wanted to be a hero, use the powers that were starting to grow inside me to help people."

"So you became a hero?"

"No," Kara said with a shake of her head. "I wanted to, but Superman wouldn't let me. Maybe he was afraid I would get hurt, or maybe he was afraid I would hurt other people by accident. I don't know, but three whole years I was on that farm before he finally accepted who I wanted to be. So he signed me up to the Justice League. I was one of the first new ones to be signed on back before this new Watchtower was built. Me and Metamorpho. It was a few weeks after the Thanagarian invasion if I remember right."

Zari suddenly became defensive. "I didn't do anything, it wasn't my fault."

"I wasn't blaming you," Kara said quickly. "I don't really blame Shayera either. If a group of Kryptonians came along and said they wanted to help the Earth from some impending doom I think I'd believe them at face value too. Or at least I would have done years ago. Either way, it doesn't mean I would be guilty. You shouldn't feel guilty either."

"I don't," she said firmly. "I'm just fed up of people accusing me of something I had no part of."

"A lot of heroes here had direct interaction with the invasion force," Kara pointed out. "Even Superheroes can have prejudices. Give them time, they'll warm up to you."

"Maybe I don't want them to warm up to me. Maybe I just want to be left alone."

"Is that really what you want?" Kara questioned. "To be left alone?"

"Yes."

"Then why are you sat here in the cafeteria?"

"Eating."

"But your food is cold and looks like it has been for a while."

Zari grabbed her fork and began to stir her cold lasagne. "It's fine."

"Come on, have another chip," Kara said. "Plenty left."

Zari didn't need much persuasion as she reached in and grabbed another corn chip, stuffing it in her mouth.

Kara continued. "Listen, I'm probably not going to be doing much for a while. Recovery time and all that, so if you need a friend I'll be here on the station. Okay?"

Zari didn't sound convinced. "Sure."

"We'll have to work on that enthusiasm," Kara mused.

Zari took the comment the wrong way. "What do you want from me?" she demanded. "I didn't ask you to be my friend or anything."

"Easy, I didn't mean anything by it," Kara offered. "I'm offering an ear and a hand. You need someone to talk to, then come find me, okay?"

Zari accepted. "Okay," she said sounding a little more enthusiastic.

Kara stood up passing the bag of chips to her. "Here, finish them off if you want."

"Thank you."

As Kara turned around she saw Green Lantern, John step into the room. He looked over and made a beeline straight towards her.

"I heard you discharged yourself?" he said.

"I'm fine," she dismissed. "What's up with you?"

"What do you mean?" John asked.

"Let's go for a walk," she said as she headed out of the cafeteria John getting into step beside her.

"Something wrong?" he asked her.

"Not with me, but there's definitely something wrong with you. Ever since I got back I've heard nothing but people complaining about you."

"Who has?" he asked.

She stopped and turned to him. "What happened between you and Mari?"

His eyebrows knitted together in a frown. "That's a little personal don't you think?"

"John, you let her go."

"She's the one that turned me down."

"So you asked her to marry you?"

"Yes, and she said she wasn't ready."

"So you abandoned her?"

He folded his arms defensively. "That's not what happened."

"I think it was," Kara said. "You were waiting for an excuse to break up with her."

"That's not true at all," he refuted or at least tried to.

Kara pushed on. "If you really thought you were meant to be with Mari then you would have made it happen."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"I think I do. You saw your son in the future and ever since you've been looking for a reason to break up with Mari, even if you told everyone including yourself that you wanted to make it work. She tells you she's not ready for marriage and you practically threw her to the curb."

He clenched his jaw. "Kara, what's gotten into you?"

"Take the stick out, John. You've become miserable and you're making everyone else around you miserable."

"What's this about?"

"This is about a lost girl who thinks she's not good enough to be a Green Lantern."

"You mean Zari?"

"Give her the damned ring, John. You're training her, so let her get used to wearing it. Unless you don't trust her, is that it?"

"No, it's not that."

"She feels rejected. Where is Shayera?"

"Down at the Lagos Tower, why?"

"You and Shay need to talk and before you object, you need to talk about Zari. Training is fine, but I think she needs some guidance and the two of you might be perfect."

"I'm already offering guidance."

"I mean as a confidant. She needs structure. She's aimless and you refusing to give her the ring is only making it worse. She doesn't feel like she belongs."

John looked back down the hall towards the cafeteria. "Maybe you're right. Next time we train I'll give her the ring."

Kara wasn't quite convinced he meant it. "I'm going to hold you to it, John. And talk to Shayera. She might not say it out loud, but I think she still loves you."

She turned and walked away only to bump into Superman around the next corner.

He didn't look happy. "Kara, what do you think you're doing?"

"Well, I was going to head home to get some rest."

"You shouldn't have walked out of the medbay."

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not. Kara, you've been through a lot."

"Which is why I was heading home. I'm taking some time off."

He seemed surprised. "That's good," he accepted. "You could do with the rest."

"I'll be back in around two days to check on Zari."

Superman looked confused. "Zari?"

"The Thanagarian that John is training to be a Green Lantern."

"Right, her, I forgot."

"Understandable. A lot has happened over the last few days. Feels longer."

"Yeah it does," he agreed. "You want me to head home with you to make sure you're okay?"

"I should be fine," she told him before adding. "I have some thinking to do."

"What about?"

She glanced down at her feet. "In the future, I was the most powerful on the team. I didn't have any reason to push myself as I didn't have anyone else to compare myself to. Looking back, I can see that I got lazy."

"You're not lazy, Kara."

"When I first arrived back here in the past I got pounded by my clone."

"So did me and Diana, which she's still sore about. Hurt her pride a little. We all underestimated her and we paid the price. Diana alone should have been able to take her, but I guess we got lazy too."

"But I caught her off-guard," Kara pointed out. "I should have had her, but she easily beat me. I need to make a decision. I need to be my best or not bother. People could get hurt."

"Kara, I don't know what's brought this on, but you are a valued member of the team. You are not lazy, you've always worked hard to be the best you can be."

"Because I wanted you to be proud of me," she explained wistfully. "In the future, I didn't have to worry about that. The woman that went to the future was not the same woman that returned."

"A person changes a lot in ten years. It's not a bad thing."

Kara rubbed her eyes. "I don't know. I just feel tired. Maybe with some rest and a clearer head I'll be able to make more sense of these thoughts I'm having."

"Before you go I need to tell you something."

"What?"

"You were really missed, even if for us it was only one year. I'm glad you're back."

"Thanks," she said gratefully. "That means a lot. I'm heading home to get some rest."

"I think I'll join you. I want to see the folks anyway."

"Okay, let's go."

The two of them headed off down the corridor together.

* * *

 **Project Ultima**

 **Truth or Consequences**

 **United States**

 ** **19** **:2** **0 –** **MDT****

 ** **August 2** **2** **, 2007****

Sivana wasn't a tall man at five-foot-six and his stooped posture made him look even shorter. His thick lensed glasses and long hooked nose made him appear more like a caricature than an actual man. The only way that Flag could describe him was that he looked like a goblin.

A very cunning, devious and dangerous goblin.

As for his project, it walked into the building of its own volition escorted under guard. Flag didn't want it here, but he wasn't ultimately in charge. He was of Task Force X, the Suicide Squad, but ever since it had been merged under Project Cadmus things had taken a turn for the worse.

He liked to do things his own way, but here he was constantly being overturned and overruled. He preferred the days back when he had more autonomy.

He hoped for the day again when he was free of this conniving agency and could run his squad as he saw fit. He wasn't interested in doing Cadmus or Ultima's bidding and he certainly didn't want to give the criminals and degenerates he worked with the leeway they had given Sivana.

No, they were expendable tools, not co-workers and definitely not equals. Sivana was scum and he was hoping for the time he could do away with him as he had with Hugo Strange. He had the unfortunate feeling that the so-called "doctor" was going to betray them long before he got that chance.

Flag decided to make it clear where the goblin man stood on the hierarchy. "Sivanis," he called out.

"Sivana," the man corrected.

"I'm going to tell you this once. You work for us. You do exactly what we say, or there will be consequences, do you understand?"

Sivana looked at him with his beady eyes that looked even smaller due to his glasses and short-sighted impairment. "I have heard it before, so save your breath. Your and my goals are similar, at least for now, so I will work with you until our goals no longer align."

Flag didn't like the way he said that. It wasn't threatening, not at all, but it gave the air that somehow Sivana was in control of his current "employment" when he certainly was not.

Flag made that fact clear. "You will work with us as long as we say so and you had better hope that it is for a long long time because when we have no more use for you, you might just find yourself strapped to a chair with a lot of volts going through that shiny cranium of yours."

Sivana smirked at him. "Did I tell you that my little dark-haired project is entirely loyal to me? I am here because it suits me, not the other way around."

"Is that a threat?" Flag questioned.

"No, I am just informing you of the circumstance that I am here. We will defeat your little defective Kryptonian agent, something I might add you yourself are incapable of accomplishing. You need me and here I am to fulfil that need."

"I did not ask for you," Flag told him firmly. "I do not want you or your little pet here."

"It is a good thing that you are not ultimately in charge then, isn't it?"

"Neither is Cannon."

"No, but he thinks he is. The new director of Cadmus has no real control. A figurehead if you will, trying to steer this organisation on a more honest path. A pity for him the ship is full of; as I'm sure you would say "undesirables", all gripping the rudder hard and forcing it in the right direction."

"You mean the wrong direction?"

"I said what I meant. I like results, as I'm sure you do. No matter what path we take to get there, all that matters is the end-result. People like Cannon let their morals get in the way not realising that they are holding the rest of us back."

Flag at that moment realised that he had been right. Things were going to repeat themselves and they were going to end up with another mess on their hands and they were going to want him to try and clean it up without the proper resources to do so.

Sivana eyed him. "Is that everything? I had a long trip and I'm feeling rather fatigued."

"Do what you want," Flag said moving past him and heading back into the building. He had to prepare himself for the inevitable and the worst thing about it was that it seemed that he was the only one in this entire organisation that could see it coming.


	26. Chapter 26

****Chapter**** ** **Twenty**** ** **-**** ** **Six****

 ** **Project Ultima****

 ** **North of** **Truth or Consequences****

 ** **United States****

 ** **23:** **58** **–** **MDT****

 ** **August 2** **2** **, 2007****

Huntress moved silently behind the two armed guards as they stood on watch, neither of them the wiser to her presence as she slipped inside the building both unseen and unheard.

She honestly wasn't sure where she was meant to be going apart from a room with a computer that was connected to the servers, preferably an empty room but she would knock a few people out if need be.

As Question had said, the hallways were fairly empty. She hid in a utility closet as two people, a man and a woman walked by, then continued on, checking doors. A lot of rooms were strangely empty and not just of people, but of equipment and furniture.

Finally, she opened a door and found a room with two computers that had been set up. She pulled out her flashlight and moved inside, closing the door shut. For a few moments, she stood there taking a long look around the room before she sat at the computer furthest from the door.

With a press of the power button, it turned on with a rush of air as the fans did an initial burst, then settled only for the computer to beep loudly as it ran through the initial start-up.

She clenched her jaw half expecting someone to have heard it, but no one came inside as the OS loading screen appeared before finally showing the login screen, which needed a password.

She decided it was time to ask Question for some help.

"Q, are you listening?" she asked in a whisper.

" _Always,"_ was his response.

"I got a login screen. How do I get past it without a password?"

" _Firstly, look around. Someone may have written it down on a piece of paper."_

She couldn't believe that was his plan. "You can't be serious? There has to be another way?"

" _Well, t_ _hat's the easy_ _and optimistic_ _way_ _of g_ _etting into a system_ _if you don't have the_ _right_ _tools_ _. The other,_ _far easier way_ _is to boot from the USB device I gave you. It should_ _bypass it."_

"Wait, you can do that? I didn't think that was possible."

" _Let's say that t_ _here's some intricate code that Mister Terrific wrote which can get you past it without any effort."_

"How long have you had this USB thing?"

" _A while. Now put the USB in and reboot."_

"But don't I need to change something in the BIOS? It won't just load up what's in the thumb drive, not unless I access it somehow, right?"

" _Just think of it as a magical USB device that can make all the issues go away."_

Huntress was sceptical but pulled out the USB stick regardless and plugged it into the computer before hitting the reset button. She didn't know a lot about computers and she didn't know how the device was going to force the computer to do anything, but she trusted Vic, so she sat there and let it do its thing.

In the meantime, she made her way back over to the door and put her ear against it. She heard a lone pair of footsteps pass by but nothing that concerned her too much.

She then heard Question's voice in her ear. _"I have access to their servers."_

"That was quick," she whispered.

" _I have all of my external drives plugged into the laptop. This might take a while."_

"How long is a while?"

" _The bottleneck is the drives. A_ _n hour or more. Actually, it might be more looking at the amount of data_ _."_

"So hours?" she questioned. "You want me to wait here for hours? That increases the chances I'm caught by quite a lot, Q."

" _Just keep quiet and don't do anything that might draw any attention to that room and you should be okay."_

"How much are you trying to get exactly?"

 _"Everything,"_ was his answer.

"You're downloading their entire database?"

 _"By everything I mean everything that might be of worth, starting with the most protected files_ _._ _With the amount that's here, i_ _t'll keep me busy for weeks."_

"I thought we were going on vacation after this?"

" _While you're tanning in the sun, I'll be checking over these files."_

"No way, Q. You need time off more than I do."

" _Perhaps we should discuss this after we're done."_

"As I recall, this is going to take a few hours so we have plenty of time to discuss it now."

" _If you have to. But I'm going to take out my earpiece if you do."_

"Hold on," Huntress said as she heard something.

She switched off the computer monitor and quickly moved behind a set of cabinets. The door opened and the lights switched on. Huntress listened intently for any footsteps, but from what she could hear whoever had come in hadn't moved.

She had the urge to peek but knew that would be idiotic, so there she knelt behind the cabinet waiting for whoever it was to leave. Or at least do something other than stand there by the door.

As it turned out, they did do something and it was definitely not to Huntress's benefit.

A bare arm reached down and grabbed her uniform by the scruff of the neck and literally lifted her up and threw her across the room.

She hit the far wall and bounced off, landing awkwardly on the hard floor. Wasting no time, Huntress was back on her feet bo-staff extended.

Question's voice came over her earpiece. _"What's going on?"_

"Can't talk," she said as she looked her opponent up and down.

It was a woman with short black hair cut into a bob-cut. Her outfit consisted of dark leather pants and a bikini top, block heeled ankle boots and gloves, all in black. The woman stood there with her hands on her hips and a huge smile plastered on her face, a face that seemed familiar.

Helena was cautious. She had no idea who this was or what her abilities were. The fact that she had thrown her across the room clearly indicated some form of super strength.

Her opponent then spoke. "Let's see what you've got."

Huntress was reticent. She knew all she had to do was to delay and not fight. There was no doubt a fight would make a lot of noise and there was also no doubt as to whether Question would get all the data he needed. The answer was he wouldn't.

Unless somehow Huntress managed to defeat the whole facility. It was possible but unlikely.

Her opponent made the first move and rushed forward. Huntress swung her staff which her opponent grabbed, easily pulling it free of Huntress's grip. With a sharp action, she snapped it in half like it was a breadstick and discarded it off to the side.

With no real option, Helena pointed her crossbow and fired. It didn't even pierce her opponent's skin, though she did react by sending Huntress crashing into the wall.

This was not going her way. At this point, it was either fight and probably die or surrender. Helena wasn't the type to surrender.

She moved forward and roundhouse kicked her opponent in the side of the head, only it was like trying to kick a solid wall. A pain shot along the top of her foot as she awkwardly fell onto the hard floor, her whole motion of movement having been interrupted by the unmoving opponent.

The short-haired opponent reached down and once again grabbed her by the scruff of the neck, lifting her up.

"I'm glad you came to play," the woman spoke. "Pity I can't let loose on you." She then threw her hard, sending crashing hard against the wall once more.

Her opponent then thrust her fist forward clean through the wall as though it were paper, barely missing Huntress' head as she managed to only just move to the side.

She couldn't dodge the arm that grabbed her by the front of the uniform and pulled her forwards before slamming her back against the wall.

The black-clad opponent spoke. "You can't escape, so you might as well surrender."

"I'd rather die," came Huntress' reply.

"I can easily arrange that," the superstrong woman said as she pulled her away from the wall only to slam her hard against it a second time.

"Let's see what's tougher. You or this wall." She did the same thing again only this time sending her crashing right through it into the corridor.

Huntress lay there on the floor in agony as alarms began to ring. She reached for her ear to call Question only find that her earpiece was no longer there.

Armed men surrounded her, their guns pointed at her head. Normally she would be able to disarm them, but right now she wasn't in many conditions to do anything.

The woman in black stood over her and stared down. "Disappointed. I was expecting more," she mused.

"Next time I'll be prepared," Huntress promised.

A voice boomed from down the hallway. "What's going on?" it demanded.

The soldiers turned to face the newcomer. "Colonel, the new agent apprehended a trespasser," one reported.

The soldiers moved out of the way as Flag made his way through. He stopped his shoes inches from the side of her head. He looked down at her unimpressed. "Helena Rosa Bertinelli," he said out loud. "Kicked out of the Justice League for disobeying orders and attempted murder."

"That's me," she said with a pained grimaced as she continued to lay there flat on her back.

"You would make a rather competent agent for the Suicide Squad."

"No thanks, I don't work well with others. Just ask the Justice League."

"You don't get to decide," he told her. He then gestured to the soldiers. "Put her in a cell. I'll deal with her in the morning. Do a sweep, make sure she's alone."

The short black-haired woman made a suggestion. "We could ask her if she has accomplices?"

Flag gave the woman a rather nasty look, something which didn't go by Helena unnoticed. "She won't talk. I know her type."

Huntress was hauled painfully up onto her feet by two soldiers before she was pushed forward, their guns at her back. Helena was simply glad that she could still walk.

Flag pointed at the woman. "You make sure she gets to her cell, then I want you to scour the area to see if there's anyone else."

She nodded. "If someone's helping her, I'll find them."

"Good," Flag said as he walked off.

With an unnecessary and painful jab to the back, Helena began to walk forwards with a slight limp. She had no intention of being taken to a cell, but so far she didn't know how she was going to get out of here.

The guards would be easy, or at least she hoped. She already knew what set of motions would take all of them out with ease, given that she could ignore the pain that ran along her back and left leg long enough.

The issue was the black-clad girl. She still didn't know how to defeat her and she didn't have time to learn her weaknesses or if she even had any.

As they rounded a corner she put her plan into action knowing that she would simply have to try and outrun her. She spun around, kicking one of them in the head sending them crashing to the floor before she slid forward legs outstretched, knocking two more off of their feet.

A fifth brought up his gun, but she knocked it free of his grip, striking him hard in the face before shoving him back into the sixth knocking them both to the floor.

With all of them out of the way she ran, only she didn't get far as strong arms wrapped around her in an inescapable bear hug.

Huntress tried everything she knew that was near guaranteed to get her free, but nothing worked.

"You're going in that cell," the woman whispered in her ear. "Even if I have to carry you."

Then something hard hit her on the back of the head. Dizziness washed over her for a few moments before she passed out.

* * *

 **Motel**

 **Truth or Consequences**

 **United States**

 **00:22 – MDT**

 **August 23, 2007**

Galatea knew something had gone wrong. She could hear Question starting to panic in his room. She could hear him pacing back and forth muttering something about being captured.

She had two options. Go straight to the facility and question Flag directly as it was clear that he wasn't getting the information she needed from Question, or she could help The Leaguer and get what she needed that way.

The latter was the option she ultimately went for and despite feeling that it was the "Kara" choice. She went with it because she knew out of the two options at hand it would be the one her father would prefer.

Galatea knocked on his room's door and waited. There was no initial response so she knocked again.

"I'm busy," came an answer.

She responded. "If your friend is in trouble then maybe I can help?"

A few moments passed before she heard the door unlock and open. Stood on the other side was the Question except without his mask.

"Galatea," he murmured.

"Having issues?" she asked.

He seemed reticent to answer the question. "Why are you here?" he asked instead.

"You know why."

He eyed her cautiously. It was clear he didn't trust her. "I meant why are you here at my motel room?"

"I've been listening. Sounds like your lady friend has gotten herself into some trouble. I can help."

His brow raised. "You're offering to help?" he asked curiously.

"I can get her out of there. But I'll want something in return and that is what little data you managed to pull from them."

He glanced back at the laptop that lay on the bed. "Strange as it may seem, I'm still receiving data."

That surprised Galatea. "They didn't shut it down?"

"No, not yet."

"Why?"

"Oversight?" he asked her right back. "Or perhaps they didn't know what she was doing?"

"Let's hope," she commented. "So, do you know where Huntress might be being held?"

"No, I don't know the layout of the building."

"That probably won't be an issue for me," she said. "When I find her, be ready because the three of us are going on a trip together. Sound good?"

"If you can get Huntress out alive."

"Deal." She said offering her hand. He reluctantly shook it.

"Grip like a vice," he commented.

She took a step back and took to the air heading northwards. Her goal was to get Huntress free of the facility then pay Flag a little visit. She knew he would already be on alert, but she only wanted to ask him a few questions and maybe tear his arms off.

Or maybe she would forgo the questions altogether. Doing that though, was pointless. In fact, going to see him at all was pointless. She already knew that he wouldn't talk. He would probably die before he said anything, so was the point of coming here just for revenge?

Kara had said something when the two had been in their mental purgatory. She had accused her of being bloodthirsty and in a way it was true. Why was she here? Again, it was for revenge and she knew that.

But what would Emil want? He wouldn't want revenge, he would want her to build herself a life, not descend into causing pain. He had said as much many times.

Flag was irrelevant. He was just following orders like a good little colonel. She just wanted to know who had given the order and why?

Galatea slowed and attempted to scan the facility. Just as she suspected it was lead-lined meaning she couldn't see through the outer walls and that meant she would have to get inside before finding where Huntress was being held.

That was if she bothered and just didn't leave both her and Question to whatever fate awaited them.

With a sigh, she looked up at the dark sky. "I won't kill anyone, dad, I promise." That didn't mean she wasn't going to maim someone though, preferably Flag.

Knowing that she had to get on with it she began to descend. That's when she heard was sounded like the displacement of air behind her. She spun around to see someone flying towards her.

The dark-haired stranger slowed and began to circle around her. "Hello Galatea," the woman dressed in black said. "Fancy seeing you here."

There was something unsettling about the way she looked. The stranger's features were very familiar. Galatea had seen this stranger's face many times, both when she looked in a mirror and when she saw Kara.

"Who are you?" Galatea demanded already knowing the answer.

"I'm you."

Galatea shook her head. "No, you're not."

"Yes, I am. I'm you without the flaws. I'm you without your pitiful weakness of mind. I'm you who will do what needs to be done. I am your replacement and it's about time you retired."

The black-haired stranger shot towards her arm drawn back ready to strike. Galatea moved out of the way at the last moment, grabbing her arm and throwing her as hard as she could down towards the ground.

The stranger recovered quickly and shot forwards, this time managing to strike Galatea hard on the chin, sending her soaring high into the sky.

Not letting her recover, her opponent grabbed her foot and pulled her back down before kicking her hard in the chest, sending her careening down where she collided hard with the highway, smashing the road surface and sending up a cloud of dirt and asphalt.

As Galatea tried to climb out of the small crater the new clone planted both feet against her chest driving her deeper and causing a small earthquake.

Knowing that she could end up buried, Galatea grabbed her opponent by the legs and held on as she tried to fly up for another attack, pulling her this, the woman in white headbutted her in the kneecap which caused a reaction of pain before she pulled her down so they were eye level. She then smashed her forehead into her dark mirror's face eliciting a cry of pain.

The woman in black returned the favour, headbutting Galatea's face. For a moment she was dazed, but her training kicked in as she deflected the fist that was aimed for her gut.

Knowing that this fight could go either way, Galatea decided to use her head for once and tried to reason with her opponent. "You know that they'll get rid of you like they tried with me."

"I know," came the reply. "But my Master will make sure I won't be here when that happens."

"Master?" Galatea questioned.

But her opponent didn't answer and continued her attack. Galatea moved back as a fist barely missed before sending a fist of her own which connected hard.

The clone in black was propelled backwards and the clone in white followed only to find a foot in her face, sending her in the opposite direction she then followed through with a gut punch and a strike to the jaw.

Galatea felt the hits, but she wasn't about to give up. Unfortunately, she knew that if this black-clad clone was anything like her, then neither would she.

So once more she tried another tactic. She flew backwards, keeping her distance. "Why fight me if you and your master are going to escape? Maybe I could help you?"

The dark clone smiled. "Nice try, but it's not the right time."

"We could make it the right time," Galatea suggested. "What's your name?"

"My name may as well be Death as I am coming for you."

Her enemy shot forwards and Galatea moved out of the way. She realised that all she had to really do was keep this second clone busy.

It was night, so that meant solar recharge was low. If she could get her enemy to overexert herself, then she could weaken her, perhaps enough to get the upper hand. That was easier said than done, though, especially when her dark doppelgänger flew feet first into her chest sending Galatea hurtling down through the roof of the facility.

As she picked herself up out of the pieces of roof and wall, Galatea took a glance around and remembered Huntress. Quickly, she began to scan around, finding Huntress in what appeared to be a reinforced cell. She flew straight towards her, smashing through several walls before landing in front of the enclosed room which was sealed by a heavy steel door. She tore it off its hinges and without saying a word she took it with her, making a hole in the ceiling as she flew back out into the night sky door still in hand.

"Come back to play?" the mirror asked.

Galatea didn't respond as she swung the heavy piece of reinforced metal, slamming it into her opponent. It split in half knocking her opponent back several feet.

Galatea reminded herself that all she had to do was keep her opponent busy until she started to wear herself down. She knew it wasn't much of a plan, but it was all she had. Of course, Galatea knew she also had to pay attention to the contingent of soldiers that were heading their way.

Then she saw him. It was enough to cause her to lose focus on her enemy when she realised that Flag was leading around two-dozen troops, all armed, some of them with missile launchers.

Galatea was brought back into the reality of the fight with a hard strike to the face causing her to drop what remained of the door. She fell back and struck the reservoir sending up a huge wave of water.

Briefly, she was stunned and it gave her dark mirror the chance to dive in after her, driving her fist into her gut, forcing the air out of her lungs.

With little choice the clone in white accelerated upwards and burst free of the water and began to spin, accelerating faster and faster. Not only did this dry her off, but created a vortex in the water which pulled her opponent around and around.

Knowing that she couldn't risk wasting too much energy, she slowed to a stop. Again, she knew that it was her opponent that should be wasting energy, not her.

Galatea's attention moved back onto the soldiers as they formed a line. Her hope was that with all the attention on her, that Huntress would be able to escape. Knowing her MO, she would if she hadn't gotten out already.

Once this fight was over, she would have to catch them up. She knew the car he drove now and there weren't many around these days. It was also slow and her eyes were fantastic. If they did decide to flee, she would find them.

That, of course, was something that would have to wait. Her opponent was currently flying at her ready for another strike and the soldiers were preparing to fire their shoulder mounted missile launchers which undoubtedly didn't fire typical missiles.

Now the question was, would they fire when there was a chance that they might hit their agent, or was the dark-haired clone expendable as long as it meant finishing the job?

She supposed that she would soon find out and she wasn't particularly looking forward to it.


	27. Chapter 27

****Been a while, hasn't it. My pitiful excuse is that it's been hot and I didn't want to sit in front of a heat radiating computer typing. The heat just made my motivation fly out of the window. But here I am, delivering what should have been delivered a few weeks back. I hope you haven't all forgotten what happened in the last chapter in the long dry desert of me not uploading.****

 ** **Enjoy.****

* * *

 ** **Chapter**** ** **Twenty**** ** **-**** ** **S**** ** **even****

 ** **Truth or Consequences****

 ** **United States****

 ** **00** **:** **49** **–** **MDT****

 ** **August 2** **3** **, 2007****

The Question felt the ground tremor. That was not something that bode well. Galatea was meant to be helping Helena escape, not flatten the facility.

Despite that, he was still receiving data which was definitely a surprise. Either it was a trick and all of it was dummy data or it was an oversight due to developing circumstances.

There was a saying: Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. He was going to continue downloading the data for as long as possible. Then he would send the execution program which would destroy the USB device.

Destroying the device was a loss that he could have really done without, but it was far too late to risk getting it back now and he couldn't let them get their hands on it.

Question grabbed his night-vision binoculars and stepped outside his motel room. He lifted them to his eyes and looked northwards to see if he could see anything.

At first, he couldn't. Then, he caught sight of a white dot fly across his vision. He tried to follow it, but lost who he assumed was Galatea.

He muttered under his breath in annoyance before he found her again. What he saw was not at all what he was expecting to see.

She was fighting someone and both were in the air exchanging punches so powerful he could almost feel the concussive forces from where he stood a few miles south.

This posed a serious problem. Either she was fighting a second clone, which he suspected, or there was yet another Kryptonian here on Earth.

Question believed it to be the former that was true rather than the latter. It made perfect senseand this possibility had crossed his mindon more than one occasion.

It explained a lot regarding what had occurred with Cadmus wanting to discard Galatea. They had a replacement and like an old piece of outdated technology, they had sought to throw her away in the garbage heap.

He wished he could say he was surprised or shocked, but instead he would settle for appalled.

What was some clone to them other than a biological machine to be used and then once it had outlived its usefulness to destroy? He was sympathetic. She was a person in her own right, but clearly the powers that be didn't see her that way.

There was now the issue of Huntress. She had been captured and Galatea was now occupied and unable to help her. That meant he had to save her himself.

That was if she even needed saving? She was more than capable of freeing herself in most circumstances, but he wasn't going to risk it. Not with two extremely powerful beings fighting overhead.

He returned to the motel and grabbed his mask, placing it on his face and sealing it. With his identity hidden, he pulled the motel door shut and locked it before making his way over to his car.

He pulled open the passenger side door and looked inside the glovebox. There, laying under a few odds and ends was a revolver. The thing had never been used except for intimidation purposes.

He closed the glovebox up and shut the door and locked it. He wouldn't need it and it wouldn't be very useful against the automatic weapons the soldiers probably wielded. Instead, he would go in silently which might be easier when all attention was most likely on the fight between Galatea and her new foe.

He started to make his way northward when a voice stopped him. "Where do you think you're going?"

He looked to his left to see Huntress running over towards him in the darkness with a noticeable limp. To say he was relieved to see her was an understatement. Not that he would tell her that.

"I was planning on rescuing you," he told her instead. "It looks like you rescued yourself."

"What gave it away? The fact that I'm stood here?" She glanced back at the airborne fight. "We should probably get out of here while they're occupied."

"Not just yet. I'm still downloading the data."

She stared at him in surprise. He couldn't blame her. He was just as shocked that the data transfer hadn't been discovered and terminated.

"You're joking?" she questioned. "She didn't tell them what I was doing?"

"Who?"

"Whoever the clone is fighting now. She's the one who caught me. Threw me through a wall. She had to have known what I was up to, there's no way she couldn't know."

"No doubt she has her own agenda," he mused. "Playing with forces they can barely control," he added, repeating something he had said earlier. "She is definitely a force beyond their control."

Huntress nodded in agreement. "Come on, let's get out of here. I think we've pushed our luck enough."

The two of them made their way back to the motel. Once there, huntress got out of her costume and dressed as a civilian while Question used his spray to remove his mask.

She looked at his laptop as he sat next to it. Sure enough, the download was still ongoing.

"Shut it down," she said. "We have to go."

Question was reticent but agreed. "Okay, let me pause the download. I'll be able to plug the drives back in using the adapter for the cigarette lighter in the car."

"Fine, whatever. Let's just get out of here. The girl in black might win and if that happens then we don't want to be in the area."

It took a few minutes to pack everything into the car. With the drives plugged into the cigarette lighter by a long cable and the equipment laying on the floor behind the passenger seat, the two set off heading south leaving the small town of Truth or Concequences behind.

* * *

 **North of Truth or Consequences**

 **United States**

 **00:54 – MDT**

Colonel Flag watched the two clones duke it out at least fifty to a hundred metres above the ground. Each strike, whether it be a punch or a kick, he felt in his gut. Some of the impacts were near ear shattering and the assault on his senses was causing him to grow increasingly impatient and annoyed.

He glanced over at the two holding the missile launchers carrying the Kryptonite-tipped missiles and he had the urge to order them to just fire on the both of them. As the old saying went: Kill them all and let God sort them out.

Despite wanting to just blast the both of them, he had to admit that Sivana's pet project was holding her own. Unfortunately, she didn't appear to have any kind of advantage, at least that Flag could see and that was a problem.

Galatea struck her opponent in the face with a hefty punch and Flag felt it too, like a bass drum in the gut and it made his ears pop. He could only imagine the forces involved.

After a few more vicious exchanges he had finally had enough and called up to their new clone.

"Get her in a position where we can strike her," he shouted out. He didn't care if Galatea heard, all he cared about was getting that shot.

He just wished that it wasn't yet another clone of some alien they had entrusted with this. In his eyes America should be protected by Americans, not aliens and not some Justice League that they had no control over.

He was willing to work with criminals because he was in control. If they tried to run away or do anything he could blow their heads off with a well-placed explosive. It also meant that he wasn't putting anyone of worth in danger.

It didn't matter if some criminal died, at least they would have died doing something right for a change. For the good of the nation.

Looking up at the two alien clones fight it out was the opposite of good. It should never have come to this in the first place and wouldn't have if someone hadn't messed around with Kryptonian DNA. What made it worse was that it was not once, but twice. At least that he knew of and that's what scared him.

* * *

 **00:58 – MDT**

Galatea felt the punch to the face, but she rolled with it. Her plan hadn't changed much. Let her opponent use up her energy, then defeat her.

The lack of daylight meant that neither of them was actively charging from the sun. What little energy they were receiving was from the reflection from the crescent moon which lay low on the horizon.

"You're not fighting back," the black-clad woman uttered in disappointment.

Galatea shrugged. "I don't like to get rough on the first date. I'd also like to have a name."

"You don't deserve my name."

"And you don't deserve a good fight. Keep throwing yourself at me, I can do this all night."

The dark clone shot forwards and once more Galatea moved out of the way. Her opponent quickly changed direction and managed to kick her in the gut, sending her hurtling backwards.

She quickly recovered and flew forwards, her opponent barely dodging her outstretched fist.

"You're sloppy," the black-clad clone mocked.

"That or maybe I'm just trying to wear you down."

"Why? You don't have anyone coming to help you. No one cares if you live or die. The only one who did is dead and you'll be the same soon enough."

"Keep talking and you'll be the one that's dead," Galatea warned.

"Did you know it was my Master who convinced them to dispose of you? It's your fault Hamilton is dead. You should have let them kill you back in Keystone City. Then he might still be alive. But I will kill."

Galatea's response was to shoot forward and connected her fist hard against her opponent's chin.

That had been a mistake.

As the other clone was sent hurtling away, she heard Flag call out and then there were the sounds of two distinct rockets being fired.

The two small missiles tracked her as she moved to the side. Seeing this, she dove towards the water before flying straight up towards her enemy.

The one clad in black didn't dodge and instead intercepted with a strike on the chin, sending Galatea backwards. Fearing being hit by the explosives, she descended quickly, but it didn't matter regardless. Both missiles ran out of propellant and fell from the sky, detonating as they struck the ground in a sickly green explosion.

Using the distraction to her advantage, the dark clone rushed Galatea punching her hard in the gut before spinning her around and holding her still.

"Again!" she shouted out to those on the ground.

Flag gave the command and two more missiles flew up towards them from the shoulder mounted launchers.

"Those missiles are for you, Tea," The woman in black whispered in her ear.

Galatea rolled her body forwards, throwing her opponent clear over her shoulders. She then kicked her hard towards the rockets, one striking her hard and knocking her out of the sky.

Galatea smiled. "No, those missiles are for you."

She watched as the dark clone fell limply and struck the ground like a rag doll. The satisfaction was short-lived as her gaze met Flag's as he gave the command to shoot her one more time. She decided it was time to leave. There was nothing for her here, there never was.

She shot upwards into the sky, neither Kryptonite tipped missile having any hope of ever catching her as she flew off into the night.

She came to a stop roughly fifty miles east. She had a decision to make. Either she found Question and Huntress or she left the area. She decided to leave the area.

While she could go back to Truth or Consequences and potentially get herself killed, she realised that she had to be smarter. So far she had been a little dumb.

First of all, Mercy Graves had been able to find the location of where Flag was stationed. That meant that she had the ability to find out a lot more. Instead of coming straight here, she should have tried to find out as much information as she could.

She had been ill-prepared and had been caught completely off guard by the second clone. It was time to stop being so impulsive and to actually think before she acted.

With that last thought in mind, she slowed to a stop and descended down, landing on a rocky crag. There was no reason to rush off back to Metropolis just yet. She needed to seriously think about her options and her next move.

* * *

 **01:12**

Rick Flag followed as the unconscious agent was taken inside on a stretcher. She had taken the full brunt of a Kryptonite-tipped missile and it had knocked her clean out of the sky.

He wasn't particularly surprised at her lacklustre performance. What he was surprised about was that Galatea hadn't attacked afterwards. She had simply flown away as though they weren't even worth her time.

That worried him, especially since he didn't trust Sivana or his pet clone. Did she know something he didn't? He had to work on that assumption, why else would she come here only to fly away?

A soldier moved up the corridor towards him. By the look of urgency in his stride and expression, he had something important to say.

"What's wrong?" Flag questioned.

"Huntress escaped. The door was torn clean off. It had to have been the blonde Kryptonian, sir. Several walls and part of the roof have also been damaged."

"Thank you for your report," Flag said before he began to grind his teeth as he noticed that Sivana was also making his way towards them.

"What have you done to my Divine?" the bespectacled man said as he stepped up beside the stretcher.

"We've done nothing," Flag said. "It's her own incompetence that's to blame."

"She is not incompetent," Sivana said defensively. "What happened? How was she beaten?"

Flag repeated himself. "As I said, her own incompetence."

"The only one incompetent here is you," Sivana said to the colonel.

That had been a mistake. Flag grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, lifted him off the ground and slammed him hard against the wall.

"Listen, you small insignificant little man. While you are within these walls I am in charge. You had better hope that your little project performs the next time she is called on otherwise there will be consequences. Do you understand?"

"Or what?" Sivana questioned. "You don't scare me."

Flag released him and let him fall awkwardly on the hard concrete floor.

The colonel then turned and walked away. "Remember you're a wanted felon," he called back. "Push your luck too far and you'll find out just how expendable you are."

"I work for Lord and he won't let you do anything to me."

Flag paused and turned back to look at him. "He'll ditch you if he thinks you're more trouble than your worth."

Sivana picked himself up off of the floor and dusted off his pants despite them not being dirty. He opened his mouth as if to say something but instead followed the stretcher carrying the Kryptonian.

Flag remained there for a few moments staring after them. Tomorrow he would make some calls. It was time to call in some favours and one of them was getting out of here and being stationed somewhere else.

He could see the impending disaster with Sivana and the new clone from a mile away and he intended on being elsewhere when that happened.

* * *

 **Las Cruces**

 **United States**

 **02:59 – MDT**

Vic Sage, AKA Question finally hit the terminate button. He had gotten the encrypted files that lay deep on their servers, the rest while he would like to get, he knew that he had to terminate now or risk being discovered.

"It's done," he told Helena as the two sat in the car.

"You mentioned the USB drive being destroyed?"

"And most likely part of the computer and desk."

"You'd better hope no one was there to get their face blown off or else the Justice League will be throwing you out next."

He didn't answer as he rested the laptop on his lap. "This might take a while to sort through."

"Then let's get a room so that you can do that."

He shook his head as he closed the laptop lid and put it on the floor in front of the back seats. "Later," he told her. "We need to put as much distance between us and them as possible."

"Are we driving through the night?" she asked him.

He nodded. "Yes."

"So, where're we headed?"

"Hub City."

Helena glared. "You're joking. That's all the way in Illinois."

"My office is there. I want to go through all of this information in a more secure location."

Helena wasn't so sure. "They probably know where your office is, or at least suspect. Going there is not a good idea and before you say anything about you not being seen, they'll make the connection between you and me."

He agreed. "That is likely yes, that is why I'm not going to that office. I have more than one, a place they don't know about, that no one knows about."

"On what salary are you able to afford a super secret place?" Helena questioned.

He smiled, which she wasn't used to seeing. It was odd being able to see his face. "You'd be surprised what types of spaces you can convert."

"Convert?" Helena asked. "This better not be some abandoned warehouse."

"Nope," he said obtusely. "A lot more hidden than that."

"A basement?"

"A lot more secluded than that."

Helena made one last guess. "A woodland shack?"

"No."

"Then where?"

"You'll find out."

"It better not be a sewer." A small tell on his face revealed the truth. "No," she uttered adamantly. "I am not going into some sewer."

"It's not the current system, it's in part of an older sealed off system."

"It's still a sewer," Helena said in disbelief.

"I can drop you off if you don't want to go," he suggested.

She sat back in her chair and folded her arms. "It better not stink."

"Why do you think I have the mask?" he said with a smirk.

"Not funny, Q," she muttered as they set back off. "Not funny at all."


	28. Chapter 28

**Sorry about the more sporadic uploading schedule as of late.**

 **I'm actually unsure about the next few chapters. I won't spoil anything but I'm not sure I'm happy with the way things play out. Maybe feels a bit rushed with some "revelations" and might be a bit contrived. Or maybe it's fine and I'm just over analysing things. Anyway, here's chapter 28.**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Eight**

 **Kent Farm**

 **Smallville**

 **United States**

 **09:30 CDT**

 **August 23, 2007**

Kara had decided to stay in Smallville for a couple of days to get back some of her strength. Despite protestations from Jonathan and Martha, she had decided to do something that desperately needed doing. That something was to repaint the barn.

They had told her that she shouldn't be overdoing it, but honestly painting the barn was something she could easily do. It would be a nice relaxing day out in the sun.

She had actually gotten the paint about two weeks back. She had decided to fix the farm up a little and had already touched up the fence. Now she was going to do the same with the barn and make the dull wood vibrant again.

Before she did anything, however, she needed to give the wood a good wash to get rid of any dirt or loose woodchips.

Hearing footsteps from behind, she turned around to see Jonathan walking over with a glass of lemonade.

"I thought you could use a cold drink," he offered.

She refrained from rolling her eyes. "I haven't even started yet. I've been out here maybe five minutes."

"I just want to make sure you're fine, Kara."

"I am." She took the glass of lemonade off of him and looked over at the barn. "This has needed to be done for a while. I should have done it before I gallivanted off to the future."

"You were busy with your hero work," Jonathan pointed out.

"Busy being selfish," she mumbled.

"Selfless more like," he corrected.

She looked at him with a wan smile. "Good to know your hearing's still okay."

"Not what it used to be, not by a long shot, but I've learned to read lips."

"That's handy." She quickly gulped down the rest of the lemonade and passed the glass back to him. "Thanks, now I should really get started."

Jonathan headed inside while she began to get to work. She decided to start from the top, hovering up towards the roof of the barn with the hose in hand.

The roof itself was fairly clean. Regardless, she gave it a hosing down with the pressure washer, making sure she got every last piece of dirt.

She then worked her way down, circling the outside of the barn until the whole exterior had been cleaned.

She hovered back to get a proper look. Satisfied, she landed.

Then a voice spoke from behind. "You do realise that if anyone decided to come to the farm they'd see you flying about, right?"

Kara spun around to find Galatea hovering over to her, her feet a foot off the ground.

Instantly, Kara was ready for a fight. Galatea raised her open hands, her palms facing outward in a gesture of peace.

"I'm not here for a fight, Kara, so calm down. I came because you deserve to know."

"Know what?"

"Cadmus has grown itself another clone."

That had been the last thing she had expected her to say. Kara felt weak. She dropped the hose and hugged herself. If having one psycho clone wasn't bad enough, then two was a nightmare.

If Galatea was telling the truth of course? It would be easy to accuse her of lying, but Kara knew that she wasn't.

Galatea offered an unexpected offer of sympathy. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm not."

Her offer of sympathy disappeared as quickly as it came. "Well too bad, because she's real and loyal to someone called Sivana. I haven't actually heard of the guy before, but from what she said they are going to betray Cadmus and not in a good way."

"Let them," Kara said. "I hope they destroy the place. It's what they deserve."

"I don't think Sivana is a good guy."

"And you are?"

"Lay off!" Galatea said as she stepped forward threateningly. "I came here with an open hand and here you are spitting in my face. I'm not here for a confrontation, Kara. I just thought you'd like to know."

"Well you've told me, so you can go fly into the sun."

"You are so ungrateful."

"I didn't ask to be cloned."

"And I didn't ask to be born. I get it, Kara. It really sucks that they took your DNA without your permission, but I'm here. I exist and I'm here to stay. I know that you hate me and I have to admit, I'm not too fond of you either."

"That much is obvious."

"Enjoy your life, Kara. You have friends, family and people that care for you. Make sure you take care of them because one day they might not be there."

Galatea shot off into the sky, an audible boom echoing through the air as she broke the sound barrier.

For several minutes Kara stood there staring up after her. The last thing she had said was strangely poignant to thoughts she had been having herself.

It was why she was fixing fences and now painting the barn. She wanted to give back, to help Jonathan and Martha who had taken her do that she had decided to help maintain their farm which they were becoming too old maintain themselves.

She stepped over to the buckets of paint and peeled the lid off the first. It was a nice bright red and would really liven up the look of the barn.

As she picked up the paint can, she looked back up at the sky. Another clone? Was Galatea lying to her, or was it the truth?

She put the paint can back down and continued to stare, her mind going blank. There she remained until Jonathan returned from the house.

"It'll soon be dinner," he said to her as he looked over at the barn. "You've finished cleaning it, I see."

She didn't answer and continued to stare into space.

"Kara, are you okay?"

She looked at him. "No, I'm not. I'm not hungry, I'm going inside to lie down."

"You're not feeling ill again are you?"

"No, I just received some bad news."

"On your communicator gizmo?"

"No, it's inside. I got a visit."

"From who?"

"I don't need an inquisition, I just need some time."

"Do you want us to call Clark?"

"No, I'll tell him what's wrong later. I don't want him to worry."

She headed inside and made her way straight upstairs where she crashed onto the bed. She lay there staring up at the ceiling, her mind racing.

She was in her right to go over to the Pentagon or the Whitehouse and to demand to know why they were still messing around with samples of her DNA.

She wondered how it had all come to this? Why was she the only one that they were cloning? Maybe she wasn't? What if they were cloning a lot of heroes? What if they planned on eventually replacing the Justice League with replicas?

How would they know if they were an exact copy? How would they know if they hadn't already been doing just that.

It was a sobering thought and one worthy of the Question,. Some of his wild conspiracies had proven to be right in the past. But this wasn't one of his crazy conspiracies it was one of hers, one that could easily be unfounded.

Still, the thought scared her and enough to make her feel a little sick.

She decided that she would go meet up with Clark at the Daily Planet when he got off work.

* * *

 **LexCorp**

 **Metropolis**

 **United States**

 **13:04 – EDT**

Mercy Graves was going over the audio from that morning and trying to figure out why there was nothing but background ambience from Clark Kent's apartment.

There were two explanations. One was that he had not been in his apartment last night, nor the night before. The second was that Galatea had planted the bug in the wrong apartment.

The second was a possibility, but she doubted that was the case especially since she had acquired his car keys, or at least his spare key to plant the other bug in his car.

No, he hadn't been to his apartment but had driven to the complex where his apartment lay. The obvious explanation was that he was seeing someone and was staying in their apartment instead.

Mercy didn't believe that was the case. Also, something that Galatea had said made her think. About how she might get more than she bargained for regarding bugging Clark Kent.

Years ago Lex had made a connection, one that he himself had dismissed as being absurd and so unlikely that it couldn't be true. That connection had been that Clark Kent and Superman was the same person.

He had based the initial conclusion on surveillance footage of Clark Kent seemingly disappearing before Superman had shown up. But Lex had then realised that there was no way that someone like Superman could live as the lowly mortal Clark Kent. It was just not possible. In fact, it was ludicrous.

At least it was to Lex.

Unlike her former boss who had decided it not worth any more thought, the odd conclusionhad stayed with her ever since.

Just the other day she hadbeen watching the surveillance monitors while he had been snooping around MercyTech. He seemed to lower his spectacles, stare at a wall then push them back up again.

The question she had was why? Unless he wasn't looking at walls, but through them?

She webbed her fingers together and leant back in her chair. No, she was being stupid. Too much stress was turning her into a conspiracy nut. How could Superman find the time to live two lives?

Regardless, she felt like she needed to verify it. It was the main reason she'd had the bugs planted in the first place. She felt like she needed to know, but so far even on his drive to and from work, he had remained mute on anything that might give his other identity away.

If he had one of course. This could all prove to be a waste of her time. But unlike Lex, she was willing to entertain the idea.

The problem with her former boss was his ego. It was so vast that he often pushed it onto other people, expecting them to react or act in a certain way. When something didn't fit his mould he made mistakes.

A god pretending to be a man certainly didn't fit his mould for Superman. There was no way that Lex in the same situation could pretend to be just a mere mortal. It was almost beyond his comprehension that anyone could do that.

Mercy had a number. It was a risk, but she believed he was malleable enough and that mere suggestion would be adequate for him to do what she wanted.

She dialled the cell number and waited.

" _Hello?"_ came the response.

"James Olson," Mercy greeted.

" _Who's this?"_

"You have a watch with a certain signal tone that it can emit, correct?"

" _Who is this?"_

"Clark Kent has a secret. I ask only that you press your watch when he's around and observe his reaction."

" _I won't betray him."_

It took a moment for her to register what he had just said. "What did you say?"

Jimmy hung up without another word. For several moments she sat there still clutching the phone receiver unsure if he had said what she thought he had said.

That had taken her by surprise. Did Jimmy know? Of all the people that could have figured it out. Of everyone on the entire planet, was it the meek uninteresting Jimmy Olson that had discovered his secret? Or had Superman told him?

Or maybe he had just come to the same incorrect conclusion that she had and Clark Kent was just a reporter from some hick town.

She rubbed her eyes with her palms and stood up. She needed to freshen up and maybe grab a drink. She was becoming obsessed with this and it definitely wasn't healthy.

* * *

 **Flying Grayson's Athletics Club**

 **Gateway City**

 **United States**

 **13:50 PDT**

Cassie was bored. Sat at the front desk was not what she had thought it would be. This place had far fewer customers than she would have expected.

Maybe it was because it was a weekday? Or maybe it was because it was in the middle of summer? Whatever the reason, there hadn't been many people coming through the doors.

It was one of the reasons why she had asked if her friend Kati would drop by. She wasn't sure how the boss would react, but she needed someone to talk too and he was busy and Kori was somewhere else, maybe on patrol as Starfire, which as far as she could tell she did whenever she felt like it.

As for Vic, he was busy doing something in the storeroom, so she just sat there at the front desk counting down the hours. Though since she had only been there for roughly fifty minutes, the time until she got to go home felt quite a long way away.

Thankfully, just as the clock turned to two, the door opened and Kati stepped inside. She took a look around the nicely furnished foyer, then strode over to her.

"Nice place," she commented.

"Boring, though," Cassie answered. "Glad you came."

"I had nothing else going on." She smirked. "So, do I get free membership?"

"Nice try, but I can't do that, so if you wanna go any further you either have to get one or pay up front."

"How much is a membership?"

"Right now it's first two weeks free."

"So I don't have to pay?"

"Membership is on a monthly basis, so you still have to pay."

"How much?"

Cassie shrugged as she began to look under the desk. "The leaflet thing is here somewhere."

Kati chuckled. "It's forty dollars a month."

Cassie looked up at her. "How do you know?"

"It's on the wall behind you."

She looked around to see it in giant letters on the wall. "Well, that means it's twenty dollars."

Kati seemed sceptical. "Do you even know what you're doing?"

"Sure I do."

"Seems like it. Not," Kati mused leaning against the counter.

"Just because I didn't know the price, doesn't mean I'm clueless."

Both fell quiet as the front door opened. Kati stepped to one side as a member entered. After showing their card, Cassie let them through to the facilities in the back.

Kati moved back over to the counter. "So, is this like a secret lair or something?"

Cassie frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Like you told me that Kori was that orange superhero that's been flying ab-"

"Shut up!" Cassie said looking around to make sure no one was in earshot. She then leaned over the counter. "Don't say anything out loud, Kati. This stuff is super secret. If someone found out, then my life is over."

"Nobody is around," Kati pointed out.

"Yeah, but someone could walk in from the back or something. I just don't want to talk about any of that stuff out in public."

"Okay, I understand, sorry."

"I'm not mad, I just don't want people finding out about my issue."

Just as she said "issue" a customer walked in from the back and gave her a funny look. They then promptly left all without a word.

"Great," Cassie mumbled. "He probably thinks I have some kind of disease or something."

Kati said nothing and just looked up at the ceiling. Sheknew that she was at fault and was half expecting to be shouted at.

Instead, Cassie let it go. "So, what've you been up to this week?"

Her friend smiled. "I was looking for a part-time job, but doesn't seem to be much going on."

"Maybe I could get Dick to fire Anaya and hire you instead," Cassie half suggested, half joked.

"I don't wanna get anyone fired, even if it is her. I'll just keep looking elsewhere."

"Maybe I can get you a job without getting anyone fired," Cassie said. "I just have to talk to Star-uh-Kori and get her to convince him. Maybe after we've all been to the mall this weekend."

"On the twenty-fifth?"

"Saturday, yeah? You still free?"

"Sure, I'm still free."

"Great, cause Kori wants to come to the mall with us."

Kati's eyes began to shine. "She does? Really?"

"You wanna meet her?"

"Yeah," Kati said enthusiastically.

"If you hang about you might be able to meet her today."

"Is she here?"

"Not right now, she's out."

Just as she finished saying that, the door from the side that led up to the apartment upstairs opened and Kori stepped out of it.

Cassie watched as Kati stared at her wide-eyed. Quickly, she decided to introduce her friend before she accidentally said something out loud she wasn't supposed to.

"Kori, you're back."

"Yes," she said.

Cassie gestured. "This is Kati."

Kori grinned. "Your friend?"

"Yeah."

Kori moved over to the front counter, her focus on Kati. "It's good to meet you."

"Me?" Kati asked in surprise. "Good?"

Kori laughed at her reaction. "Yes, it's good to meet you Kati."

"It's great to meet you too," Kati said in return, blushing. "You're like-"

Cassie interrupted. "Be careful what you say, Kati."

Kati nodded quickly. "Right, yeah, sorry."

Kori's grin only grew wider. "Don't be sorry. You are nervous, that's okay."

"Um, yeah," Kati said. "Well it was nice meeting you, I should probably get going now."

"There's no need to leave," Kori said. "You can keep talking with Cassie."

"Um, sure," Kati said.

Kori addressed Cassie. "I'll be in the back."

"Okay," Cassie acknowledged.

Kori moved through while Kati stared after her. "Wow, she's beautiful."

"I know, it's not fair."

"Says you," Kati mumbled.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing Cassie, I'll see you on Saturday, okay?"

"Yeah, sure. See you Kati."

Cassie watched her go wondering if she had upset her somehow? Rethinking the conversation she couldn't see what she could've said that would have.

She would have to ask her about it later, either when she next saw her or send her a text after she got off work.

Regardless she had the rest of the shift to get through and she wasn't particularly looking forward to the boredom.


	29. Chapter 29

****My upload schedule has really gone to heck. Sorry about that. Hopefully, all the questions people have will be answered in the next few chapters. We're coming to the end of part 2 within the next five or so chapters. (might be more) Hopefully, it won't leave people disappointed. But the end is still a little way off and there is a planned part 3.****

 ** **Enjoy.****

* * *

 ** **Chapter**** ** **Twenty**** ** **-**** ** **Nine****

 ** **Daily Planet****

 ** **Metropolis****

 ** **United States****

 ** **17:0**** ** **6**** ** **– EDT****

 ** **August**** ** **23**** ** **, 2007****

Kara In-Ze stepped into the foyer of the largest and most popular newspaper in Metropolis. She was playing dress-up with a brown wig and a pair of glasses, though it wasn't for fun. She simply didn't want to be recognised.

Back before she had headed to the future, she hadn't really worn the disguise apart from the one time on her first day in Metropolis. Thankfully, no one had made the connection, but looking back on it, it had been a little bit irresponsible. Then again, Clark got away with it with only a comb and a pair of glasses.

Now, she was actually enjoying being in disguise. She was not a superhero in this guise, she was just an ordinary woman. The cousin of Clark who was waiting for him after he got off from work.

While she had done numerous "Normal" things with Barbara in Gotham since coming back to this time, she hadn't had the chance to hang out with Clark. He was the closest she had to family and she sometimes missed the feeling of being normal.

Unfortunately, she wasn't here to "hang out" she was here because of what Galatea had told her regarding yet another clone.

Her attention was drawn to the elevators as they slid open. Jimmy Olson stepped out and made his way to the front desk where he signed himself out.

As he turned to leave, their eyes met for a moment.

"Hey Jimmy," she called over. "Long time, no see."

"Do I know you?" he asked as he walked over before he realised. "Hey, you're Clark's cousin, right?"

"Yeah," she said. "Yeah, I am."

"I didn't recognize you. Hey, didn't you used to be blonde?"

She cringed. "Um, yeah, it was dyed," she lied.

"Right, you look better when you're being yourself."

 _If only you knew_ , she thought to herself. "Yeah, thanks."

Jimmy started to play with his watch. "So, you're waiting for Clark?"

"Yeah," she said, feeling more and more awkward. She wished he would lose interest and go home, instead of talking to her.

"I remember when we first met and you told me you were an intern here."

"Um, yeah," she said, not paying attention and casting her eyes towards the elevator.

"Quite a day that was."

"Yeah," she said, continuing to ignore what he was actually saying.

Kara continued staring over to the elevator, wishing it would open and Clark would step out. She also hoped that by ignoring him, he would get the picture. As she turned completely away from him, she heard a loud beeping. "You hear that?" she asked, looking around.

It stopped. "No, I've gotta go, see ya," Jimmy said rather suddenly.

"Yeah, see ya later," she said, watching him walk away.

She was glad he was gone, even though his departure was a little strange. He was a little awkward around her. Then again she was a little awkward around him, too.

The doors to the stairwell opened and Clark came running out. He slowed when he saw her and made his way over. "Kara?" he asked quietly.

"Karen in this guise," she corrected. "Just wondering if you wanted to hang out tonight," she said wanting to get the two of them out of here so that she could tell him the real reason she was here. "Haven't had much time to talk to you since I came back."

"Was Jimmy just here?" Clark asked her.

Kara sighed. She really didn't want to talk about him. "Yeah, why?"

"I heard his watch."

"Watch?" Kara questioned.

"Signal watch."

She felt herself grow cold. "Right, I forgot the watch existed."

"Wait here," Clark said as he stepped up to the front desk and signed himself out. He quickly returned. "Let's head to my car. We can talk on the way back to my apartment."

"Sure."

They stepped out of the building and headed over to the multi-storey car park where they climbed into Clark's car.

"You still driving this thing?" Kara asked.

"He glanced at her. It's reliable," he said as he put on his seatbelt.

Kara quickly put on hers, even though it had no purpose for a Kryptonian.

A few moments later, they were out of the parking lot and straight into traffic.

"Why did Jimmy press the alarm on his watch?" Clark asked her.

She shrugged. "I don't know."

He glanced at her. "Did you react to it?"

Kara grimaced. "Yeah, I kinda did. Obviously, too."

"Why?" Clark demanded.

"I forgot he had a signal watch," she defended. "I wanted to know what the sound was. I'm sorry, I messed up."

"He did it for a reason," Clark said. "He must know that you're Supergirl."

"I'm Argo now."

"You know what I mean. If he knows who you are then that means he has to know who I am. If he can figure it out, then anyone can."

Kara fell silent. He had recognised her and gone straight to talk to her. The problem was if he had known then why hadn't he said anything to Clark?

Unless.

She thought back. He had commented on when they had first met, how he had told her she was an intern. When they had first met, she hadn't told him she was Clark's cousin or that there was any relation at all. In fact, when they had first met, they had gone off to find the connection between Intergang and an arcade token. They had gone up against Granny Goodness and she had revealed herself as Supergirl.

But again, he hadn't known she was Clark's cousin, or masquerading as his cousin. They had seen each other a few times after that but had not really talked to each other all that much. He made no indication whatsoever that he knew their secret. But what if he had?

She turned to Clark. "If he knows who I am and who you are, then that means he's known for years."

"Then why did he wait until now to do something?"

"We could go ask and find out?"

"You mean you can, Kara. I have to get to the Metro Tower."

"You want me to go? As Argo or as Karen?" she asked.

"As Karen. When we get to my place, I'll give you his address."

"Good, because I need to talk to you about something."

"What?"

Kara sighed. "I got a visit from Galatea."

"Where?"

"At the farm."

Clark grew irate. "She knows where the farm is!?" he demanded. "And you left them undefended?"

"I don't think she's going to hurt them."

"We don't know that!" he said in a raised voice. "I need to get them out of there!"

"What about Jimmy?"

"You pay him a visit while I go make sure the folks are okay."

"And what do you want me to say to him?"

"I don't know, just try and get to the bottom of this. I can't have people know who I am."

"Okay, but if he knows, he knows." She paused for a moment. "Do you think he's the kinda guy who'll try and use it against you?"

Clark shook his head. "Jimmy? No, he's a good kid. I just want to know what he knows."

"Don't you think that me going to him is a bad idea, though? What if he only suspects? Maybe we should leave it for now."

He slowly nodded as he realised she was right. "Yeah."

"You work with him, maybe you can coax it out of him at work?"

"Yeah," Clark agreed.

"So, about what I was going to tell you."

She then went on to tell him what Galatea had told him regarding the second clone.

* * *

 **LexCorp HQ**

 **Metropolis**

 **United States**

 **17:32 – EDT**

Mercy Graves closed the application and leant back in her chair. She had suspected, but now, with the bug she had inserted into Clark Kent's car, she knew.

She also knew it was only a matter of time before he found the transmitter and traced it back to her. But there was little that he could do about it now. Unless he had the means to erase her memory. Knowing the Justice League, though, they might just have that ability.

Mercy disconnected from the bugs in Kent's car and removed it from the list of active transmitters, erasing its existence from the system. It would also fry the device in Kent's car, which she knew might alert them to its presence. She didn't care about that, though. She had what she wanted.

She could remember back when she had first taken control of LexCorp as the CEO. She had been shocked to find how much of the city was under Luthor's watchful eyes and ears. He had become obsessed with it, especially in the last few years. He needed to know as much as he could, needed to be in control of everything. Every business deal was a sure win for him because he already knew everything that the other was bringing to the table and he knew exactly what they wanted and what they were willing to settle for.

Mercy had deactivated most of the spy devices, but left a few active, including those located in the various LexCorp buildings and in the offices of some other large companies such as Alva Industries and Wayne Enterprises. She liked to have an advantage over them.

She opened the top of the wine bottle and poured herself a glass while she leant back in the large chair. She didn't know how she was going to use this new knowledge, yet. She would have to think on it a little more. But perhaps she would give one Jimmy Olson a visit.

* * *

 **Metro Tower**

 **Metropolis**

 **United States**

 **18:06 – EDT**

Batman looked at the small, half-melted device. "It's LexCorp tech," he told Superman.

"What is it and what was it doing in my car?"

"It's an audio transmitter," Batman told him.

"How do you know? It looks pretty fried. Too fried to tell what it's supposed to be."

"There's a few dotted around the WayneCorp buildings," Batman informed him. "I kept them around to keep Lex guessing by giving false information, but it's Mercy Graves now. There were even some here in the Metro Tower, but I had them removed."

"Wait, there were some here?"

"Yes."

"And you didn't tell anyone?"

"It's in the report files if you care to look."

"Bruce, you need to communicate with us. Stop filing reports in secret."

"They're not secret. They're there for anyone to read."

"You know what I mean. This isn't good news. This means that whoever was listening in knows that I'm Superman and that Kara is Argo."

"That is probable, yes," Batman confirmed. "Which is why you shouldn't have been talking about it in your car."

"I didn't know we had been bugged."

"You should have anticipated that it was a possibility," Batman said. "It also means that you're going to have to pay Mercy Graves a visit."

"No, I will," Kara said from the far side of the room, where she had been sat listening. "It's my fault."

"I think we both need to," Superman said. "Who knows what she plans to do with this information."

"I suggest that whatever you plan on doing, you do it quickly," Batman said. "And about what you said about your parents. I'll have them moved somewhere safe."

"I think I should be there," Superman said.

"Of course, which is why J'onn has agreed to look after them until you can go there yourself and break the news."

"Thanks," he said before turning to Kara. "Let's go."

"Right behind you."

* * *

 **LexCorp HQ**

 **Metropolis**

 **United States**

 **18:22 – EDT**

"Can't see her anywhere," Kara said to Superman.

"Neither can I," he replied in frustration.

The two of them were using their X-ray vision to thoroughly scan the building.

"There's a lot of lead," Superman commented.

"Yeah, and it's giving me a headache."

"If she's not here, then where is she?" Superman asked.

"The Metro Tower?" Kara guessed.

"Why would she be there?"

"To gloat on what she knows?"

"I'm not sure that's her style. She could be over at her new company MercyTech?"

"Could be," Kara agreed before it dawned on her. "Maybe she's gone to Jimmy's?"

"Why would she be there?" Superman questioned.

"Because we were talking about him."

Superman nodded as he realised there was a good chance that that was where she had gone. "We have to get there and fast."

* * *

 **Jimmy Olson's Apartment**

 **Metropolis**

 **United States**

 **18:12 – EDT**

He was already regretting it. He had suspected for years, but he had been too afraid to say anything in case he was wrong. He didn't know why he had done it, but when he had seen her, and with Mercy giving him the idea, he just hadn't been able to help himself.

Clark, or rather Superman, would have probably pretended not to hear it, but Supergirl, or Argo as she went by these days, might not have known or remembered he had it. It had been a risk, still was a risk even now, but her hearing it had confirmed what he already suspected.

Clark Kent was Superman and Karen Kent was Argo. He had known ever since the second time he had seen her when Clark had introduced her as his cousin when she had been visiting Metropolis. The first time he had met her, she had been just some girl who then revealed herself to be Supergirl.

For all this time he had kept it a secret. He respected both Clark and Superman too much to let it slip to anyone. So he continued to pretend that Clark was just Clark.

There was a knock at his door. He glanced at it in surprise. He didn't usually get visitors unless it was his mother and that was usually on a weekend. Today was Thursday.

He stood up and made his way over to the door and looked through the eyeglass, seeing no one was there.

He turned away when there was another knock. This time when he looked, he saw Mercy Graves stood outside with a frown.

"I know you're in there," she said. "I want to talk to you."

"What about?" he called back through the door fearing the reason.

"Come on Jimmy, there are freelance photographers who would do anything for the chance to see the current CEO of LexCorp in person. Open the door."

"I'm not stupid."

"If you don't I'll just kick it down and then I'll be mad. And don't think about pressing your watch, I'm only here to talk. And knowing Superman, he'll be on his way in a few minutes anyway."

Jimmy thought about it for a moment. "Can I get a few pictures?"

"No, that's creepy," she said through the door.

"I'm a freelance photographer, remember?"

"Fine, we talk, then you get your picture."

He thought about it, before deciding to go with the obvious danger. He unlocked his door and pulled it open. Mercy pushed both it and him aside, then closed it behind her.

She looked around at the messy apartment and pulled a disgusted face before turning to Jimmy. She spoke, keeping her voice down. "We both know the two Kryptonian's little secret," she said.

His eyes went wide. "H-how?"

"How do I know, or how do I know that you know?"

"B-both?"

"You pressing your watch helped." Jimmy paled and she continued. "Tell Superman that his secret is safe with me as long as he stays away from LexCorp and MercyTech, understood?"

"Wh-Why not tell him yourself?"

"Because I want you to tell him. I also want you to tell him that I want to meet him away from the office as Clark Kent. Tell him to meet me in the Diabaldos cafe on the corner of Daly drive and Newbern Avenue this coming Monday at seven in the evening." She turned for the door.

"Is that all you came for?" Jimmy asked in surprise.

"Yes, it is."

"And the picture?"

"I lied about that." She stepped out into the hallway and pulled the door shut behind her.

Jimmy stood there in silence. His mind was racing over what had just happened. How had she figured it out so soon after he had confirmed it to himself? Had she been spying on them? Had she been spying on _him_? She had to have been, how else would she have known.

The last part was crazy, he was just a guy with a camera who worked at the Daily Planet. If she had anyone bugged, it was Lois and Clark. But then she had called him to tell him to use his watch, so maybe she had hacked into the cameras at the Daily Planet?

Jimmy didn't know how long he had been stood there in thought when there was a second knock at the door. He stepped over to it and without thinking, pulled it open finding Clark stood on the other side.

"Come in," he said, quickly. He wasn't looking forward to what was to come.

"Kara is following Mercy," he told him as he stepped inside. Jimmy pushed the door closed behind him. "Why was she here, Jimmy?"

"She can't follow her," Jimmy said quickly. "Mercy said that she would keep your secret if you didn't go near LexCorp."

"I can't leave her alone to do who knows what," Clark said. He then reached for his ear. "But you're right. Kara, stop following Mercy. Head back to Smallville." A frown crossed Clark's face. "I'm not asking, Kara. I need you back in Smallville." He paused. "Good, I'll see you there."

Clark moved over to the couch and sat down while Jimmy remained stood by the door.

Clark began. "How long have you known?"

"I'm sorry, Clark," Jimmy apologized.

"It's not your fault," Clark assured him. "How long have you known?"

Jimmy moved over and sat down next to Clark. "Since you introduced me to Kara. I had already met her."

"You had?"

"The first time I met her she said she was an intern. Then she revealed that she was Supergirl and fought with Granny Goodness and those women from Apocalypse."

"The Furies," Clark said, remembering. "You were there?"

"Yeah, I had already been hanging with her for a few hours, going from arcade to arcade trying to match this token I had. We found the place and then all hell breaks loose and the next thing I know she's got super strength and stuff."

"Who else knows?"

"I've not told anybody," Jimmy promised.

"I know you wouldn't do that. Do you think Lois knows?"

"I don't know. But how does Mercy know?"

Clark sighed. "She had my car bugged," he told him. "We were talking about why you would use the signal watch and if you knew who we were."

Jimmy's face fell into his hands. "Then it really is my fault."

"No, it's not, Jimmy. We shouldn't have been talking about it in the car. We're becoming too complacent because we haven't been found out. This is a bit of a wakeup call." Clark then lowered his glasses to the end of his nose and began to look around the room.

Jimmy looked up at him. "One more thing, Mercy wants to meet you at Diabaldos this Sunday at twelve. The one on Daly Drive."

"On the corner of Newbern Avenue?" Clark asked, pushing his glasses back up.

"Yeah."

"Alone I assume?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"At this point, it would be stupid to refuse," Clark commented as he stood up. "I don't say this enough, but you are a good guy, Jimmy."

"I try to be."

"I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, hopefully, this doesn't change things between us?"

"Of course it doesn't," Clark said as he moved towards the door. "Remember the watch if anything happens."

"I remember," Jimmy said, holding up his wrist.

Clark then stepped out of his apartment, closing the door behind him leaving Jimmy inside feeling guilty.

He had to make it up to Clark somehow. He didn't know what or how at least not yet. He would, though. He just had to think of something.


	30. Chapter 30

It's been a while I know. What makes it worse is that I'm approaching the end of this story. I hope you can all remember what happened leading up to this point. Anyway, back to the posting and thanks for sticking with the story. Hope you enjoy.

* * *

 ** **Chapter**** ** **T**** ** **hirty****

 ** **Kent Farm****

 ** **Smallville****

 ** **United States****

 ** **22:45 – C**** ** **DT****

 ** **August 23, 2007****

Both Jonathan and Martha were being bullheaded as usual, but Clark wasn't going to give up. Not when the psychopathic; in his opinion, clone knew where they lived. He knew given the connection between Kara and Galatea that it had only been a matter of time, he had just put it out of his mind and hoped that it never came.

Unfortunately, it had.

"It's only for a short while," Clark said growing frustrated.

Jonathan folded his arms. "And how long is a short while? This is our home, Clark."

"I know, but your safety is more important."

Martha looked over at Kara who had stood quietly in the corner. "What do you think?"

"Clark thinks you should go," Kara answered.

"I asked what you think, not what Clark thinks," Martha said.

"I don't know. I'm not sure Galatea is even a threat to you."

Clark was having none of it. "Kara, you know what she's capable of!"

"I know, but what happened to giving people a chance? Forgiveness and all that stuff?"

He couldn't believe what she was saying. "We're talking about the clone that has tried to kill you more than once and even tried to destroy the Watchtower. We can't risk it, Kara. I know, I'd like to give her the benefit of the doubt, but I can't, not when it might put the folks at risk."

"I know, but I honestly don't think she'll try anything," Kara said.

"See," Jonathan grumped. "Kara doesn't think we're in any danger."

Clark could tell that he wasn't winning any of them over to his way of thinking, so he tried something else. "It's not just your clone we have to worry about, it's Mercy Graves too. She knows who we are. Who knows what she might try."

"Mercy would be stupid to hurt your parents," Kara pointed out.

"Can you really be sure that she won't? That Galatea won't? Is it worth taking the risk?"

Kara agreed albeit reluctantly. "I guess he's right, we can't risk it."

Jonathan was still against it. "We've lived here most of our lives, we can't just up and leave just because something might happen."

"It's not forever," Clark assured them. "Think of it as a vacation. You both need time away from the farm. Don't worry, it'll still be here when you get back."

Martha rested a hand on Jonathan's shoulder. "Maybe we should go."

"This is our home," Jonathan said in disbelief.

"I know," Martha agreed. "But if he feels that we might be in danger, then maybe we should listen. Even if it's to help give him piece of mind. It might do us some good to get away for a while."

Jonathan was clearly still sceptical, but he went along with his wife's wishes. "Okay son, but only for a short while."

"Don't worry," Kara said. "I'll make sure nothing happens to the farm."

Clark quickly added. "We both will."

Jonathan sighed. "Well, I suppose we'd better go pack."

"Leave the shotgun here," Clark said.

"What about my pa's old revolver?" Jonathan asked.

"Leave it here as well," Clark urged. "And I mean that. The place you're going to be staying doesn't allow guns."

"Where're we headed, Europe?" Jonathan questioned.

"No, it's here in the US. It's just the person you're staying with has a strict policy on guns."

"Sounds like a-" Jonathan began but was interrupted as Martha nudged him hard in the ribs.

"Don't be rude," she uttered before looking back at Clark. "I'll make sure he packs only what he needs."

"Thanks, ma," Clark said. "And sorry about all of this."

"No need to worry," Martha reassured him. "It gives us an excuse to get away for a bit. I think we both need it."

"Speak for yourself," Jonathan grumped as he walked upstairs.

"Don't mind him," Martha said. "He doesn't like leaving the farm unattended."

"I know," Clark said.

Martha turned for the stairs. "I'll help pack."

The two Kryptonians watched her go. As soon as she was out of sight, Clark turned to Kara. "You don't think this is necessary, do you?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I don't know, Clark. Maybe we're being too hard on her. Galatea I mean."

He shook his head. "You're confused. What you've been through-"

"I don't even remember most of it," Kara interrupted. "Its just bits and pieces. But I stand by what I said. Maybe I've let hate cloud my judgement."

"No, it's her who has done that, Kara."

"No, Clark. She's not Darkseid, she's me. I could have easily turned out like that, but you and the Kent's, you all helped me."

"I don't think it's in your heart to be bad, Kara."

"No offence Clark, but you don't know what's in my heart. What happened to Argo still hurts, it still hurts a lot."

"We may have lost our people but-"

He didn't get to finish as Kara grew angry with him. "You haven't lost anything. Earth is your home and humanity are your people. You grew up here, you know next to nothing about Krypton or Argo. I lived it, I endured it and I survived it. If it wasn't for your superpowers you would never have known you were an alien."

"I still wonder Kara. I still think about what life might have been like if I had grown up on Krypton."

"Dull," Kara answered. "I sometimes wonder if the universe is better off."

"How could you say that?"

"Think about it for a second. Back before you brought me here, Earth was almost taken over by just two Kryptonians Jax-Ur and Mala. Now imagine a few billion Kryptonians? The universe wouldn't stand a chance."

"I don't think our people would have wanted to conquer the universe."

"It wouldn't take many of us. When Granny Goodness warped your mind, how many civilizations did you bring under Darkseid's heel?"

Clark turned his back to her. She had struck a nerve. "This conversation is over."

He headed upstairs while Kara stood there feeling guilty. He had never gotten over that dark time in his life. He had never been able to bring himself to talk about what he had done, not with her, not even with Martha and Jonathan.

She knew that she shouldn't have brought it up, but she had been trying to make a point. The power that she and Clark had within them was dangerous. He probably knew that unfortunate fact better than anyone.

Kara stepped outside and looked across the darkening fields of late evening. She wondered what would happen if Galatea and the new clone teamed up? There would be widespread chaos, but the Earth had the Justice League protecting it something other planets didn't have.

She stood there on the porch just staring out as the wind slowly began to pick up. She guessed that there was a storm brewing as the clouds were starting to gather.

Hearing the creaking of the stairs, she stepped back inside to see Clark carrying their cases, both Martha and Jonathan carrying smaller ones.

"They're packed," he told her not meeting her eyes.

"Are they going by teleporter or Javelin?" Kara asked.

"We decided teleport," Clark said.

"Okay," she accepted. "Do you want me to come or to stay here?"

"Whatever you want, Kara."

"I'll go with them then, make sure they get settled."

Clark nodded. "I'll have to head back to Metropolis soon. I have work tomorrow."

"At least it'll be Friday," she said.

"Yeah," Clark said handing her one of the cases he was holding. He reached for his ear. "Batman, we're ready."

Moments later, the pull of the teleporter grabbed the four of them and within a second they had been disassembled atom by atom and reassembled in the large living room of Wayne Manor in Gotham City.

Martha rested her hand against her chest. "My goodness that was strange."

"Strange doesn't cover what that was," Jonathan added.

The four of them looked up at the large stairs as Alfred descended down them. "So very good to meet you, Mister and Mrs Kent," he greeted with a warm smile. "I am Alfred and I will be making sure that your every need is catered for."

Jonathan wasn't too impressed. "Is this some kind of fancy holiday resort?"

"Heavens, no," Alfred said. "You are at Wayne Manor."

"You're a butler?"

"Yes," Alfred answered.

Martha nudged Jonathan. "Behave."

He looked at her a little sheepishly. "Sorry, this is just a little overwhelming."

Clark was concerned. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Fine, son," Jonathan answered. "Just need a sit-down and some coffee."

Alfred looked perplexed. "At this time? I do say you'll be up all night."

Martha amended their choice. "We'll both have lemonade, then,"

"Very good," Alfred said as headed for the kitchen. "I shall make you both one." He paused by the door. "Does anyone else want refreshment?"

Clark answered first. "I'm fine. I need to be heading back to Metropolis."

"I don't want anything either," Kara said. "Thanks for asking."

As Alfred entered the Kitchen, Bruce entered the lounge. "I hope the trip wasn't too stressful," he said as a greeting.

Martha smiled at him. "It was strange, but we made it in one piece."

"Bruce," Clark said.

"Clark," Bruce said in return. "They'll be safe here, don't worry."

"I know," Clark said. "Thank you for letting them stay."

"Alfred needs some company," Bruce said. "So how long are they going to be here?"

"Until I'm certain Galatea isn't a threat."

Bruce looked at Kara. "You have something to add?"

Clark spoke for her. "She seems to think Galatea won't try anything."

"I can speak for myself," Kara said. "Though he's right, I don't think she'll try anything."

Bruce regarded her before looking back at Clark. "And what about Graves?"

Clark slowly shook his head. "I don't know. I'm heading back home and tomorrow I have to go to work. I'm just glad it's Friday." He then looked at Kara. "And you need to keep an eye on Jimmy this weekend. I don't trust that Mercy won't try to use him somehow."

Bruce looked confused. "Why would she? She already knows who you are, he's irrelevant."

"I know, but it's my fault," Clark said. "I should have been more careful. She knows he has the signal watch so she might decide that she wants it."

"Thin logic," Bruce said. "But it's your prerogative."

"I know it's unlikely, but I don't want to take the risk."

Kara shrugged. "You could always bring him here if you're that concerned?"

Bruce outright rejected. "No."

Clark shook his head. "Just keep an eye on him over the weekend, Kara. On Monday I'll see what she wants."

Bruce nodded. "Just be careful, Clark."

"I will. I'd better be heading home." He walked over to the rear door and headed outside shortly before taking off heading north-east towards Metropolis.

Back inside Bruce offered them all a seat.

Jonathan took a long look around the room as he sat down. "So how many people live here?"

"Just two," Bruce answered as he sat in his armchair.

The door to the kitchen opened and Alfred stepped out with two glasses of lemonade. "Sorry about the wait, I had to clean up a spill." He placed them down on the long rectangular coffee table before turning to the master of the house. "I see you are back Master Bruce."

"That's right, Alfred. I've decided to take the evening off."

"Fantastic," Alfred beamed. "Then perhaps we can play a few games of Ludo. I believe I have the board and pieces laying around some-place."

Kara smiled at the quaintness of it. She remembered playing a few board games when she had first arrived on Earth. Unfortunately, they weren't pleasant memories. She had been very unhappy at first and had hidden it all beneath a veneer of smiles.

In those early days it had been tough, but once her power of flight had started to kick in it had become easier. Being able to fly with the birds had helped her forget. Or at least put it out of her mind.

Alfred brought her out of her thoughts. "Is everything alright Miss Kara?"

"I'm fine," she said and she meant it.

For years she had struggled with her sense of place and where she belonged in the scheme of things. She had thought that going to the future would help and it had for a while.

She had come to accept that she belonged wherever she was needed and right now she was needed here on Earth in this time.

Despite all the troubles, she was glad to be reacquainted with Martha and Jonathan, Clark and all the rest. She was especially glad that she was able to see Barbara again. She hadn't realised just how deeply she had missed her until she came back.

* * *

 **Clark Kent's Apartment**

 **Metropolis**

 **United States**

 **02:30 – EDT**

Clark flew in from the window he kept open and landed in the darkness, the only illumination coming from the skylight window.

He changed into his evening wear before climbing into bed. As he was drifting off to sleep, the phone by his bed began to ring, waking him up.

He sat up and rubbed his eyes before he picked it up.

"Hello?"

A female voice spoke from the other side. _"Good morning, Mr Kent. I was wondering if our friend Jimmy had remembered to tell you about our meeting?"_

"Mercy," he said through his teeth.

" _This_ _next_ _Monday at seven_ _PM_ _."_

"I know when and where you want me to meet you," he said angrily. "Leave Jimmy out of this."

" _Don't worry, I don't have any real interest in him. It's you that I find interesting Mr Kent._ _A_ _nd that so-called cousin of yours."_

"What do you want?"

" _To see you, Mr Kent. There's no malice or hidden intent. You are a fascinating and powerful man and I like powerful men."_

"That explains why you always got in line whenever Luthor showed up. I always thought it was because you lacked any real backbone."

" _Save the insults. Be there and dress_ _casually_ _."_ The phone line went dead and he put it down with a frustrated sigh.

As he laid back down in bed, something dawned on him. How had she known he was back at his apartment? He sat up and scanned the room, finding a small transmitter under his bedside cabinet. He grabbed it and crushed it between his fingers.

Today had been a bad day. The last thing he needed was for Mercy to start selling his secret to the highest bidder. He wasn't sure that she would do that, but her intentions were a bit of a mystery to him. He had never really been able to gauge her personality, as she had always been in the shadow of Lex.

He hoped for the best but knew he had to prepare for the worst.

* * *

 ** **In the Skies Above Virginia****

 ** **United States****

 ** **05:**** ** **3**** ** **0 E**** ** **D**** ** **T****

From her current altitude, Galatea could see the ocean and also an early sunrise as it peaked over the curved crinkled carpet of water.

In her head, she was going over the events back at the town of Truth or Consequences. She kept wondering if it had been a waste of time, but ultimately she had found what she went to find and that was who was behind it.

If this new clone was to be believed, then it was a Doctor Sivana who had convinced them that she and ultimately Emil needed to die.

She knew next to nothing about him other than he was from Fawcett City, Captain Marvel's jurisdiction. She didn't even know if he had been at the TC facility. Now she wished she had checked so that she could have crushed his spine.

As the full disk of the sun cleared the horizon, she turned and began to fly west back into the night. She wasn't sure where to go or what to do. Did she return to TC and flatten the government building or did she keep flying?

Ultimately, she kept flying, passing over California and continuing westward over the Pacific, her destination unknown.

Her will to fight was gone. She didn't know when it had happened, but between her fight with the other clone and talking to Kara at the Kent farm, she had just felt drained and unmotivated.

She simply didn't know what she was supposed to do. Once more she was aimless and without direction.

With no real destination, she kept on flying until she saw what appeared to be the sun rising in the west. It wasn't, she was simply flying fast enough that she had caught up with the evening.

It was strange to think that if she turned around and flew back the other way, she would move from evening back to morning. It wasn't really time travel, though it felt like it was.

She didn't turn back, though. She continued on into the day, flying over Asia and finally slowing to a stop over Europe.

She stared down at the continent that lay almost twenty miles below her. She had never been to Europe as her missions had been primarily in the US. Well, apart from the time she had been sent into orbit to destroy the Watchtower with the Ultimen clones.

For a few minutes she contemplated continuing on over the Atlantic back to America, but there was no reason to. The only thing there was a government that wanted her dead.

She began to descend downwards towards mainland Europe. It was time to disappear, to bide her time and to properly plan her next move somewhere they wouldn't find her easily.

As for Sivana and the dark-haired clone. Just like Cadmus, Ultima and Flag, she was far from finished with them. She had a feeling, though based on what the other clone had told her that Flag was in for a rough time in the near future when Sivana and the new clone decided they no longer wanted to serve the government agency.

It would serve them right. It would serve them all right. They would get what they deserved and then the hunt would be on to capture the two and with luck and perseverance, she herself would hopefully be forgotten.

Galatea knew that she was probably kidding herself but all she had was hope and to ensure that the death of Emil Hamilton, the man she saw as her father, was not for nothing. She was going to live, not just for him but for herself and with time she would show the world not who she once was, but who she is.


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N \- I should really finish this story. Nothing worse than a hanging story. So I am going to try and finish it and plan what happens next. I was never truly happy with this chapter, but after not having read it for almost a year, it's better than I thought. Still not great, but better.**

 **Hope people remember what was going on.**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty-One**

 **Watchtower II**

 **Earth Orbit**

 **08:50 – Station Time**

 **August 24, 2007**

John Stewart stood outside of Zari's room, holding her Lantern ring in his hand. Kara had been right to chew him out over this. He had been withholding it for no reason, and it was time to give it to the Lantern in training.

He pocketed the ring as he reached over and pressed down the door buzzer. Not a minute passed before the door slid open to reveal a tired-looking Zari.

"You ready?" the senior Lantern asked.

"Uh, yeah, I'm ready."

"Let's go get some breakfast."

She stepped out of the room, and the two of them then made their way to the cafeteria. Once there they both got themselves some breakfast. Zari went with corn flakes while John had waffles.

"Big day ahead," he told her through mouthfuls.

She nodded, not making eye contact. It only confirmed what Kara had told him about her closing up. He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed it before.

With breakfast out of the way, John led her back to the room where she had sat in the other day behind a computer screen. There Kyle and Hirunan were waiting for them.

John stood in front of Zari who continued to avoid eye contact with him, instead, focusing on Kyle and reached into his pocket and retrieved the ring.

"Zari," he said.

Her eyes flicked up at his before turning down towards the floor.

"Are you ready to become an official Green Lantern trainee?" he asked.

She looked back up at him and nodded.

He reached out, ring in hand. "Give me your finger."

She held out her hand and John released the ring. It hovered for a moment before it slowly put itself on her finger. Zari closed her hand into a fist and stared down at it.

"It's yours, you've earned it," he said.

She looked up at him. "Thank you."

John smiled. "You and Kyle are going to do a patrol around the planet. You'll start at the Rio Tower, then head to the Metro Tower, move across to the Paris Tower then down to the Lagos Tower before going to the Seoul Tower then to the Melbourne Tower before returning to the Rio Tower."

Zari smiled. "Sounds like fun."

John looked at the grinning Kyle. "Take as long as you want. Make it a day trip."

Kyle saluted. "Will do."

John looked back to Zari. "It's time to change into your Lantern uniform."

"Right," she said, holding out her fist. From head to toe, she began to change. A winged green helm covered her head, and her t-shirt and jeans changed to form-fitting green attire. Lastly, her wings were covered, finishing her look.

John spoke. "The uniform is more than just a symbol. It also protects you. Impacts and forces that would normally break bones or kill you will merely knock the wind out of you."

Zari nodded in understanding.

John continued. "It doesn't make you indestructible, though. You'll still need to use your head to survive."

"I understand," she said.

John addressed Kyle. "She's your responsibility today."

Kyle nodded before he started for the door. "Come on, Zari. Let's go explore the world."

She moved quickly after him as he left the room, the door sliding shut behind them.

Hirunan spoke up as soon as they were gone. "About time you gave her the ring back."

John ignored the comment. "I want you to do a quick patrol around the sector."

"I can do that."

"If you see anything out of the ordinary or that you think is suspicious, call it up to the Watchtower."

"You expecting anything?"

"No, but it's always best to be cautious. I want to increase patrols, and I haven't had the time to do more myself."

"What about the Justice League? They have Javelins that have basic hyperdrives, don't they? Can't they do some patrols?"

"We answer distress calls when we receive them, but so far the League is still very much centred around Earth."

"Thinking of changing that?"

"Maybe one day. The truth is Earth is still a pre-space age planet, so by being too proactive, we run the risk of people seeing it as an invitation and Earth is not ready for visitors, not even on a diplomatic level."

"That bad?"

"We're still warring over resources, petty politics and religion."

Hirunan couldn't help but point out the obvious. "There's a lot of space-faring races that are still like that; only they're warring with other planets, not other countries."

"But most space-faring races are ready for the interstellar and intergalactic community. Earth isn't, not by a long shot."

"Maybe you're right. I'm not one for politics."

"Well it's my world, and we still have a long way to go."

"All worlds have a long way to go," Hirunan pointed out. "The fight for a better future never ends."

John agreed. "You're right. Well, we can't stand talking all day. I'm heading down to the Rio Tower."

"I'll see you when I get back from patrol."

The two of them left the room, both heading different ways — one towards the teleporter, the other to the airlock.

* * *

 **Watchtower II**

 **Earth Orbit**

 **10:21 – Station Time**

Batman entered the Watchtower Monitor Nest where Mister Terrific, aka Michael Holt, was filling out his Sudoku puzzle. As Batman moved closer, he realised that there was a stack of them and crosswords and several other types of puzzles all across the top of the consoles.

He was here because of something that had been on his mind since Dick had called Alfred about strange dreams. He had wanted to talk to Michael about it; mainly because 'Michael' had been one of the names mentioned, but he hadn't had the time or the opportunity. Right now, he did, and while he knew it was a long shot, it was worth asking.

Terrific looked over at him as he approached. "Shift-change already?" he asked.

Batman shook his head. "No, but I do have a strange question to ask."

"Go right ahead," Terrific said before the console drew his attention. "Actually, it might have to wait."

Batman looked at the console. "What is it?"

"Got a warning. Sensors are picking up a weather pattern that falls outside of the norms." He suddenly sat bolt upright. "Well outside of the norms."

Batman looked at the readout. "A tornado?"

"Yeah, it's coming from nowhere, and it's growing in size at an unnatural rate."

"What's its location?" Batman inquired.

"Kansas, a few miles outside the small town of Smallville."

Batman hit a few keys to check its exact coordinates before he stood up sharply. "Get Superman on the line."

"Isn't he working his day job?"

"Beep his communicator. He'll answer when he can. Also, get in contact with Kara."

"We're going to need an evacuation," Terrific said. "At the rate it's growing, it could reach a class-five in thirty minutes, and it'll flatten the town."

Batman quickly brought up the list of heroes currently available and selected those he believed would be of some use.

He then headed for the elevator, talking as he walked. "Those that aren't on the station teleported to Smallville. The rest are to pilot Javelins down to attempt an evacuation."

"Understood," Terrific acknowledged, before adding. "The tornado has already hit a class-two, so you'd better hurry."

* * *

 **10:32 – Station Time**

Zatanna caught up to Batman as he stepped up into the Javelin. He paused and looked back at her.

She slowed to a stop. "What's this about a tornado?" she asked him.

"I'll tell you on the way," he said as he headed inside.

She followed, slipping herself into the copilot's chair next to Batman and buckled herself in.

Batman pressed down a button. "This is Javelin 3ready for launch."

" _Understood Javelin 3."_

"Just the two of us?" she questioned.

He looked at her before answering. "I cannot afford to wait. More Javelins will be following us down if need be."

"How big is this tornado?"

"The last report was a class-two but expanding fast."

"How fast?"

"It started only a few minutes ago."

"You think it's artificial?" she asked.

He delayed answering until after the Javelin had launched out of the Watchtower. "A tornado that big doesn't appear out of nowhere. It takes more than a few minutes for a weather system that complex to build up. _Much_ longer."

"Any ideas who's behind it?"

"At a guess? Weather Wizard."

"I didn't know he was that powerful."

"It depends entirely on the tech he's working with," Batman answered before accepting the incoming call from the Watchtower. "What is it, Michael?"

" _As strange as this sounds, the tornado_ _hit class-f_ _our_ _but_ _is_ _now_ _dissipating. By my calculations, it isn't going to hit the town."_

"I don't care about what it didn't hit, what _did_ it hit?"

"There are _a few farms out that way,_ _unsure right now if it hit any. One might have been_ _._ _The storm has almost gone._ _"_

"Keep the other Javelins in the bays at the ready just in case it comes back elsewhere. I'll check this out with Zatanna. Batman out."

Zatanna regarded him as he closed the channel. "You think this was a targeted attack, don't you?"

"I don't think it was. I know it was. A tornado comes out of nowhere, reaches class-five then vanishes in less than ten minutes? It's an attack. No doubt about it."

The Javelin broke through the atmosphere and descended downwards through the clouds towards the destruction. A wide trench had been torn through a cluster of trees, the damage growing in width as it hit a clearing.

The Javelin slowed and levelled out before it landed. The hatch opened, and Batman unbuckled himself and headed outside, Zatanna following close behind.

What lay ahead was the debris of what was once a farm or Zatanna assumed had been a farm. She could see where she thought the house might have been as there were parts of the wood wall still jutting up with water from the broken pipes spouting up into the air.

"We should look for survivors," Zatanna suggested.

Batman shook his head. "There was no one here."

"And you know that how?"

There was a gust of wind as Kara landed in front of them and stared.

"The farm," she breathed.

It took a few moments before Zatanna caught on. This must have been where Superman was raised, and where Kara had spent the back-end of her teen years. That meant that this had certainly been an attack, just as Batman had clearly suspected. She even said as much. "Someone knew where this place was."

Kara turned and looked at her. "Galatea. It was the reason we moved the folks." She closed her eyes. "No, I doubt it was her. It was Mercy Graves. It had to have been her."

Batman disagreed. "Perhaps, but I don't think it was."

Kara looked at him with a glare. "Then, who?"

"Weather Wizard is the likeliest candidate."

"But someone still had to have told him where to strike," Kara pointed out.

"Perhaps, but she's not this stupid."

The Kryptonian turned and looked back at the destroyed farm. "This is gonna kill Clark and the folks." She bent down and picked up a splintered piece of white painted wood. "I'd only finished re-painting this fence the other day. I can't believe it. They don't deserve this. They're two of the nicest people."

Zatanna stared towards the remnants of the house. "Maybe we can rebuild it?"

Batman immediately shot down the idea. "Not a good idea. Whoever did this know where they live."

Kara agreed solemnly. "He's right. It's too dangerous. Their lives are over, and it's all my fault."

Zatanna moved over to Kara and placed a comforting hand on her back. It was all she could offer as she had no clue what to say.

The two stood there for a while. Eventually, Zatanna made an offer. "If the folks need somewhere to stay-"

Batman cut her off. "I have that covered for the time being."

"And what about after the 'time being'?"

"That is something we'll have to discuss with Superman when he gets here," Batman said.

* * *

 **Daily Planet**

 **Metropolis**

 **12:04 – EDT**

Clark hadn't immediately had time to answer the alert on his communicator as he had been in a meeting which ended at lunchtime.

Immediately, as soon as Perry had told them to get out, he rushed to the bathroom where he quickly called the Watchtower. The moment he received word of what had happened, he promptly told Perry that he might have a lead regarding the MercyTech story. It was a lie, but it gave him an excuse to be out of the office for the rest of the day.

Not five minutes later he was being teleported from the elevator to Smallville where he materialised in a field of debris.

For several moments he stood there and stared, trying to understand what he was seeing. It was hard to believe that the place he had grown up was now nothing but splinters.

"What happened?" he asked. He knew that Smallville had been struck by a freak tornado, but he hadn't expected this.

He turned around to see Batman, Zatanna and Kara stood over by a Javelin. In the distance, he could hear the sirens of what were probably the emergency services.

Kara spoke up. "Clark, you can't be seen."

For a moment he was confused by her comment before he realised that he hadn't changed and was still dressed as Clark Kent. Without a word, he stepped into the Javelin and not a moment later removed his outer clothing and glasses and returned to the others as Superman and waited.

Batman, however, didn't think it was a good idea for either him or Kara to meet with the emergency services. "You and Kara should wait in the Javelin," he said.

"Why?" Kara asked.

It was Zatanna who answered. "You're both clearly shaken up by this. Let Batman and I talk to them."

Superman shook his head. "We're not waiting in the Javelin."

"Clark," Batman began, but Superman cut him off.

"We're off to Gotham. I need to tell the folks what's happened."

"I understand," Batman said in agreement. "We will deal with the authorities."

"Thanks. You're a good friend."

"You'd better get going. They'll be here any minute."

Superman nodded and contacted the Watchtower for teleport. It took no time at all for both him and Kara to be snatched up in the beam and sent halfway across the nation where they re-materialised at the back doors of Wayne Manor.

Ahead was the hardest thing that he'd ever done in his life. Face the two people that had raised him and tell them that their home had been destroyed.


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter Thirty-Two**

 **Wayne Manor**

 **Gotham City**

 **United States**

 **12:41 – EDT**

 **August 24, 2007**

Superman held his adoptive mother in a tight hug while his father sat there in stunned silence.

Kara remained by the rear door staring out towards the ocean beyond. Despite no one blaming her, she felt that this was all her fault.

There were only two people she could think of that could possibly be ultimately responsible for the destruction of Kent farm. That was either Galatea or Mercy Graves. Either way, it was through her that they knew about the farm.

As to who had actually done the deed? Logic said the one who had done the actual deed was Weather Wizard, but he still got the information of where to strike from somewhere and that somewhere again was either Mercy Graves or Galatea.

She should never have gone to the Daily Planet. She should have contacted Clark via the league communicator once he had gotten home from work instead. But she had gone to the Planet, reacted to Jimmy when he activated his signal watch, and it had led to the destruction of their lives.

Kara turned to look at them. "I'm sorry," she said loudly before stepping outside onto the grass and slowly walked over towards the cliff and stared out to sea.

It was calm, the antithesis of how she felt. She kept going over the moment she had heard the beeping of Jimmy's watch. She now knew that she shouldn't have reacted. She should have known not to react, but her thoughts were elsewhere on what Galatea had told her regarding yet another clone of her. Being so distracted she hadn't thought and had just reacted, asking him innocently what the noise was.

She glanced to her side as Superman stepped up beside her. She didn't want to talk to him.

"It's not your fault," he tried to reassure her. "I should have been smart enough to not talk about it in the car."

"I'm still the reason," Kara disputed. "And even if he hadn't clicked his watch, I was still there to talk to you about what Galatea told me regarding the other clone. I still would have mentioned it and Mercy Graves would have still have known who I was. Who _we_ are."

He looked out to sea, following her gaze. "Why would she do this now?" he asked. "Why the farm? She has to know we'd easily trace it back to her."

"That's why it's unlikely that it was her," came the voice of Bruce Wayne.

The two Kryptonians looked around and waited for the new arrival to explain, which he did.

"Mercy is a lot of things, but she's not suicidal. She would not attack, or hire anyone to go after your parents."

"She's only one that could have done it," Superman said in annoyance. "If not her, then who? Galatea? They were the only ones that knew. It was one or the other."

"In regards to Mercy, it's possible that someone could have hacked her servers, gained access to her files and found the information about you."

Superman scowled. "Don't make excuses for her, Bruce. It's about time I gave her a visit."

"Clark!" Bruce called out, but it was too late, he had taken off and was flying north-east towards Metropolis.

"Idiot!" Bruce said as he stared after him. "I hope he doesn't do anything stupid."

Kara said nothing as she turned back to face the ocean. "It's my fault," she said again.

"Yes it is," came Bruce's emotionless reply. "You were both careless and it's cost the Kents everything."

She glared at him but said nothing. She wanted to say something snide, but she held her tongue. Things had been a complete disaster and she didn't even know how it had gotten to this.

The last few days had been unpleasant. First, the mental attack, second her briefly thinking that she was Galatea, which just the thought made her shudder.

During that, she had managed to get Kryptonite dust in her lungs which had then been absorbed into her bloodstream.

Thankfully it was gone thanks to the machine she had been wired up to, which had filtered her blood. A tiny amount still remained, but as the doctor had said, she should pass that within a few days in her urine. Or so she hoped.

Now the farm was gone and both Jonathan and Martha were homeless and it was her fault.

Maybe it would have been better if she had stayed in the future.

"I want to be alone," she said finally as she continued to stare out across the ocean.

* * *

 **Question's Hideout**

 **Beneath Hub City**

 **12:01 – CDT**

Huntress awoke feeling rather groggy and sore. Being sent through a wall and then being sat in a car for nineteen hours had taken its toll as it had resulted in her muscles seizing up.

She sat up on the small bunk she had slept on and looked over at the Question who was sat hunched over his laptop studying whatever was on the screen.

"You still at it?" she asked as she rose up with a grunt. Her whole body felt stiff. "Maybe I should have checked in at a hospital," she commented as she made her way over.

She looked over his shoulder at the screen as he tried to open a document.

"Damn, another one that's encrypted," he muttered. "Takes forever to decrypt."

"What have you found so far?" Helena asked him.

He glanced up at her. "You're awake?"

"You didn't hear me talking?"

"I'm busy."

"I can see that. So what have you found?"

"I have some information on Cadmus."

"I'd hope so," she said. "Considering that's the whole reason we were there."

"I know what they've been up to," he told her. "At least some of it. Firstly, they've been trying to recreate their failed Ultimen clones with only partial success. They are still imperfect."

"Anything else?"

"I also found some information on our new clone."

"Yeah?"

"They call her Divine."

Helena rolled her eyes. "Who gave her that name?"

"Maxwell Lord."

"The business elite? Wasn't he the guy who had something to do with that Ultimen fiasco?"

Question stood up and made his way over to a large billboard that had a web of string on it, connecting images, words and maps.

"A lot of the files were corrupted and I still have a lot to go through. However, I believe he is behind a lot of things. I believe he was the one that ordered Galatea's termination."

"Why? Because of his new project?"

"Because of Hamilton's influence on her," Question answered. "Also because she was a bit of a wildcard. On the Watchtower she disobeyed an order to cease the assault and continued to fight Supergirl until she was rather violently subdued."

"With a power conduit as I recall," Helena said. "Or at least that's what I heard."

"Yes," Question confirmed. "One that had enough power running through it to turn you or me to ash simply by being near it."

"So Lord wanted her dead. What else?"

"This new clone isn't a clone of Kara."

Helena frowned. "Who's it a clone of, then?"

"Unknown. I don't have access to that data. If it isn't Kara, then my guess is that Lord had Doctor Sivana, his puppet in all this, clone Galatea."

"A clone of a clone?" Helena asked in disbelief. "I don't know much about genetics, but I didn't think you could do that?"

"Of course you can. Cloning is imperfect, though, so cloning a clone would end up with more imperfections developing. That is, if this is a clone of Galatea."

"Who else could it be a clone of?"

"Who else indeed."

Huntress sighed. "Anything else?"

"They have been continuing their research on the other universe."

"Other universe?" she asked.

"The one with the Justice Lords," he answered.

"Is that the one where their Superman melted Lex's face off?"

"That is correct," he confirmed. "Though it is not the only alternate reality. According to the files, a few years back an incident at S.T.A.R labs sent Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane to another parallel dimension. Do you know what they found between both incidents?"

"No?"

"That is both of these alternate realities, Superman became tyrannical."

"And they believe the same will happen here?"

"It's almost a given," Question said.

"So you believe it too?"

"With that much power, all it takes is a single incident and things can begin to unravel."

Huntress turned away from him. "I hope you're wrong." When it came to conspiracies, he tended to make connections where none existed. She just hoped that this was one of them, because the unfortunate truth was that he was right more often than he was wrong.

* * *

 **Lexorp HQ**

 **Metropolis**

 **13:02 – EDT**

Mercy Graves was looking over her schedule when a shadow fell over her. She looked around to see Superman hovering outside her window, his arms folded with a deep glare on his face.

With a press of a button, the window opened and he flew in, landing on the other side of her desk.

He didn't give her the chance to speak. "Freak tornado hit Smallville. What do you know about it?"

She was immediately confused and taken aback by his hostile tone. "I don't know anything about it," she answered. "Why would I? I don't even know where Smallville is."

"You're lying."

"I assure you I'm not. What's so special about Smallville?"

"You know what's so special!" he accused.

It was clear that he was really angry about this tornado and for some reason, he thought that she was behind it. "I assure you Superman that I do not."

Superman slammed his fist down onto the desk splitting it in two. Mercy jumped back, out of her seat, narrowly avoiding getting hurt.

"What is wrong with you?" she snapped at him.

He closed his eyes tightly shut. "You are the only one that could have known."

"Known what? What's in Smallville?"

"It's where my parents lived."

She swallowed hard. "In Kansas?" she asked. Galatea had mentioned Clark Kent's parents living in Kansas. "Are they?" she began to ask but couldn't finish.

"You'll be disappointed to know that they weren't there and survived."

"It wasn't me," she urged.

"The timing says otherwise. You find out who I am, then the next thing I know the place I was raised has literally been wiped off the map!"

"It wasn't me," she repeated.

"Then who was it!?"

She shrugged as she looked down at her destroyed desk. "I have no idea, but I suggest you go cool-off before you do something you regret."

"I will be back," he threatened as he made his way towards the window. "And you will have answers."He didn't let her respond as he flew off.

A moment later the door to her office opened and security swarmed in. She glared at them.

"You guys are so slow that he's been and gone." She moved away from the desk. "Get this cleaned up. I'm going home early. I need to calm down with a nice glass of wine."

* * *

 **Clark Kent's Apartment**

 **13:21 – EDT**

As soon as he landed he changed out of his Superman uniform.

He felt uneasy about the way he had lost his temper with Mercy. The desk had smashed so easily, with barely any force. It was a clear reminder of the reality of who he was. He had to maintain control otherwise people could get hurt or even killed.

He sat down on the edge of the bed and held his head in his hands. They were shaking, something that rarely happened these days. He felt on edge like he could lose it at any moment. A week ago his non-Superman life had seemed so normal. Now it was anything but.

He had already contacted the Daily Planet on his cellphone regarding the events in Smallville, where his family farm had been decimated. He had been given the rest of the day off, which he was thankful for.

As he looked up, he noticed a sheet of paper that had been slid under the door. He stood up and made his way over, picking it up.

On it were two names: Jimmy and Lois

Immediately Clark grabbed his communicator and contacted Kara telling her to come to Metropolis immediately. Something was going on, but he was now somewhat convinced that Mercy was unlikely to be behind it.

His guess was that Bruce might have been correct. Her system wasn't secure and the information of who he was had been compromised. If that was the case, then she was still to blame, but that also meant that an unknown party had his whole life in their hands.

That thought made his blood run cold.

* * *

 **13:41 – EDT**

Kara knocked on Clark's apartment door and waited. It was barely ten seconds when it opened and he ushered her inside.

As soon as the door was closed he held up a note which simply read: Jimmy Lois.

"What's that?" she asked.

"This is a threat," he told her. "I'm going to go find Lois. I suggest that you go and keep an eye on Jimmy."

"You think that's necessary?"

"My home was destroyed by a freak tornado, Kara."

She nodded in understanding. "I'll go see if he's at his apartment."

"He'll be at the Daily Planet," Clark told her.

"I'll head there, then."

"Don't let him know you're watching him," Superman told her.

"Why not?"

"Just keep an eye on him and watch for anything unusual."

"Sure, Clark. But why can't he know?"

"Because I don't want to scare him, Kara."

"Okay, I can understand that. I'll head out now."

"So will I. Contact me if anything happens."

"Understood."

She turned around and headed back out of the apartment. Things felt like they were quickly spiralling out of control.

* * *

 **Watchtower II**

 **Earth Orbit**

 **15:24**

Zatanna sat there in the Watchtower commissary feeling troubled. It had been a long time since she had revealed to the world that she was an actual magician who could do feats of real magic. She had no secret identity to worry about. She was just herself. There was no-one to protect, not really. She had an uncle, but she hadn't seen him or his family since she had been a young teenager.

Seeing the destruction at the Kent farm, though, made her realise the risk many heroes were taking, and why they needed their secret identities. People could get hurt, killed or have their entire lively hoods destroyed.

Annoyingly while dealing with the aftermath in Smallville, Batman had decided that he needed to head back to Gotham, leaving her to deal with the Smallville sheriff and then the reporters that had turned up.

She was thankful that Terrific had decided to send down some help in the form of Green Arrow. He had been more than helpful as they explained what had occurred. Or rather what little they knew. They had detected a strange weather pattern and had come to investigate finding the destroyed farm. It wasn't even a lie. It was near a-hundred percent factual.

She drummed her fingers against the table. Things were a lot simpler when she lived in San Francisco. Actually, that was a lie. Things tended to be rather complicated, especially when a certain Brit had entered her life.

Thankfully, she had put most of that behind her. But maybe it was time to go back. She missed Shadowcrest, her families' ancestral home and hadn't been there for nearly three years now.

Zatanna stood up sharply from her chair, causing a few of the heroes to look her way. She ignored there stares left heading towards the teleporter room.

She hadn't gone back to Shadowcrest because she knew there was no hurry to do so. It would still be there, waiting. But what if one day it wasn't?

What had happened to the Kents was horrible. As she understood it, they were staying at Wayne Manor and she felt that she needed to go see them. She wanted to meet the people that had raised Superman.

After teleporting down to her apartment in Gotham she got in her car and hit the road, her destination was Wayne Manor. After roughly a half-hour, she finally arrived, pulling up outside the gate to the large building that looked almost like something out of Frankenstein. After getting out of her car, she pressed down the button on the intercom by the gate.

" _Wayne Manor, who may I ask is there?"_

"Zatanna," she told him.

" _Ah, Ms Zatanna. I can see you on the surveillance cameras. I shall open the gates._ _Just be aware that we have guests._ _"_

"I know," she said. "It's why I'm here."

" _Very well."_

She returned to her car as the gates slid open. She then drove inside and parked in front of the large manor.

With her car locked, she headed up to the front door and was greeted by Alfred.

"Good afternoon," he greeted. "It is good to see you again, Ms Zatanna. It has been a few months since you were last on the property."

"Yes it has, and it's good to see you again too," she agreed.

"Please come in," he said.

She stepped inside and he closed the door.

"I shall show you to the main room," Alfred said, leading the way.

She followed where she saw two elderly people sat talking. They stopped as they looked over at them.

Alfred introduced her. "This is Ms Zatanna Zatara."

"The magician," the man Zatanna assumed was Superman's adoptive father said. "I've seen her on the TV."

"Nice to meet you," the older woman said. "I'm Martha and this is Jonathan."

"Pleased to meet you both," Zatanna said. "I'm sorry about what happened. I was with Batman as we responded to the tornado, so I saw it first hand."

"It was our home," Jonathan said. "The land's been in the family for generations."

Zatanna wanted to offer some help but knew there was little she could do. She couldn't really invite them to stay at Shadowcrest as she doubted either would want to stay there. It was a place of magic and could be quite dangerous if one was not prepared.

"How long will you be staying here?" she asked.

Jonathan answered. "We're not sure. I suppose until Clark can find us a place to stay."

"I see," Zatanna said. She looked to Alfred. "May I take a seat."

"Oh, of course," Alfred said. "Forgive me for not offering."

"It's fine." She said as she sat down.

"Would you all like a drink?"

Martha perked up. "One of those cups of tea you make would be lovely."

"Then I shall fetch you one," Alfred said. "Anyone else?"

Jonathan nodded. "I'll have one as well."

"No thank you," Zatanna said.

"Would you like a lemonade instead?" the butler asked her.

"No thank you, I won't be staying long."

"Very well," Alfred accepted as he made his way to the kitchen.

Zatanna looked around the large room. The manor certainly looked nicer from the inside than the out.

"So," Jonathan said. "Are your magic tricks real or fake? I've seen those shows on TV where they show how some of your tricks are done. With mirrors and stuff."

"Jonathan!" Martha said in a disapproving tone.

Zatanna didn't mind answering the question. "Depends. I like the craft of fooling people with illusions that appear to be rea; magic, but aren't. There are tricks, though, that need genuine magic."

"Why not use real magic all the time?"

"As I said, I like the craft. Besides, real magic can be strenuous. I like to save my energy for the big finale to really wow the crowd."

"You don't use an alias, do you?"

Zatanna shook her head. "No. I'm me. I don't really need to protect my identity."

"Glad you put it that way," Jonathan mused. "Some would see it as hiding. I've seen those shows too."

"I know that heroes need to live their lives like anyone else. Magic is who I am, and there has never been any reason to separate the two. Everyone knows I'm a magician. It's just that over the last ten years that I've revealed that my magic isn't all tricks." Zatanna took off her hat and set it on her lap. "Maybe I could do a show for you. Not now, of course, I don't have anything with me, but later. I'm sure you need to take your mind off things."

"We sure do," Martha agreed. "How well do you know our son, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Barely at all. The only one of the original seven I know is Bruce, and I don't know him all that well either. He was the one that gave the offer to join the league."

"Why did you accept?" Jonathan asked.

Zatanna shrugged. "I felt it was an opportunity." She smiled. "Besides, I wanted to be among people like your son. You must be very proud of him. He is a symbol that many aspire to be. Maybe not in terms of abilities, but in terms of kindness and moral standing."

"We are proud," Martha and Jonathan chorused together.

"I wasn't sure what I could really offer at first," Zatanna continued. "I'm not really a superhero, not like your son or Bruce. I do help people when I can, but it's not something I devoted a lot of time to."

"I'm sure they appreciate you," Martha said.

"I know they do. We all appreciate each other. In a lot of ways, I think most members are just relieved that they're not on their own any more. It can be tough and there are times I know even Superman wished he had some back-up or someone looking out for him. Like that time Parasite got his hands on him."

"We know the dangers all-too-well," Jonathan said.

"We didn't want him to do it at first," Martha said. "And even now there are times we wish he would hang up the cape and retire from it. But the world wouldn't be here now if it weren't for him."

Alfred stepped into the room with the two hot drinks which he placed on coasters on the large coffee table.

"There you go. I do hope you enjoy." He turned to Zatanna. "Are you certain you do not want a cup of tea or other beverage, Ms Zatanna?"

Zatanna thought for a few moments. "Actually, I should be heading off."

"Already?"

Zatanna nodded. "Thank you all for your time."

"In that case, I shall walk you to the door," Alfred said.

Zatanna stood up and walked with the older man to the front door. "It was good to meet you," she told him.

"You too Ms Zatanna. A pity you have to leave so soon."

Zatanna stepped out of the mansion and made her way back to her car. She climbed inside and put the keys into the ignition.

A few minutes later she was heading back into the city.


End file.
